Second Bite at the Cherry
by Sakinthra
Summary: It started with breaking into a library. But after a slew of what could be arguably called bad decisions, Sakura puts together an unlikely team of shinobi and decides to take on several impossible goals: defeating Akatsuki, keeping her loved ones safe, and, the most impossible goal of all: the unification of the shinobi world. Sakura won't be the weak one of Team Seven anymore.
1. Chapter 1

((AN: This is a story that I originally began writing on AO3. I've decided to cross publish here, since I realize a good portion of the fandom never migrated that way. I'd say I really began to hit a stride with this story around Chapter Eight, which is really where the canon divergence begins. I hope you enjoy!))

* * *

When compared to the other members of her team, everyone told Sakura Haruno that she was the smart one.

It was a nice enough statement, and given the denseness that the boys seemed to exhibit regularly, she wouldn't necessarily call it an untrue one. While the boys would rush into situations with bravado, never considering consequences, she was the one who sat back and…

Well, she could _try_ to claim that she was analyzing the situation for the best possible course of action, but that wouldn't be quite true. The truth was that she was a coward, afraid to act for fear of not being able to do well enough, for fear of failing, for fear of death. Even in times when she had roused herself to action, she found herself grossly inadequate compared to these boys who didn't seem to have had any fears at all in their natural lives. So, yes, it _was_ smart that she sat back and stayed out of major combat. It was smart that she let the boys take the heat, and the damage, and do the dirty work while she stayed out of the way. In any other team, she probably could get away with this for the majority of her career. She could learn support tactics, aiding the go-getters, never truly putting herself in danger's path…_that_ was smart for someone like her. She was no Uchiha. She didn't have any special bloodline that gave her jutsu beyond her comprehension. She certainly wasn't Naruto either, and though she couldn't say whether she considered the Kyuubi a blessing or a curse on the boy (though she leaned towards the latter), what she _could_ say was that it gave Naruto a considerable advantage over other ninja their age in terms of chakra and endurance. No, Sakura was neither of those two. She was the smart one…and all that meant, really, was that she was the weak one.

So maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise to her that Sasuke had so easily been able to disable her when she'd tried to stop him that night. She'd barely even posed a challenge. All she'd threatened to do was scream; she couldn't even have threatened to tie him up and drag him back to the village if he tried to go. She hadn't been smart, then, she'd been a stupid girl who'd been so overcome with emotion towards the boy that she loved that she'd been unable to act as a true shinobi ought to. She'd allowed him to escape, into the hands of enemy shinobi that had proven too much of a powerful distraction to allow Naruto to catch up to Sasuke in time.

Sasuke was gone, many of her friends wounded, and Naruto…

Well, Naruto was off taking steps to improve himself. He'd taken his failure in stride, as he typically did, and used it as an excuse to train and get stronger. She had heard enough about Jiraiya to know that the sage would likely train Naruto well. Naruto would get stronger and return and…well, she wasn't really quite sure what would happen after that, but knowing Naruto he would try to find Sasuke and bring him home. And he would succeed, wouldn't he?

It's what she would have thought, before the failure of the last mission. Naruto and Sasuke had beat many odds, to complete the mission in the Land of Waves, to push their way through the chuunin exams…who wouldn't have believed in their continued success? Sakura wasn't dumb. Even if they were just beating the odds, they were _consistently_ beating the odds, so it was smart to assume that they'd continue doing it, even if, in the latest case, they were turning their own odds against each other.

She wasn't _surprised_ Sasuke had gotten away. Just massively disappointed. Disappointed in him, disappointed in Naruto, and disappointed in herself.

She could move on from this. Request transfer onto another team and continue to sit in the shadows, supporting, watching, never really moving forward. She could sit back and wait for Naruto's return this way, and when the time came she could aid him, try to beat the odds once again… she could even attempt to get some supplementary training. She was smart enough to get into the medical core if she tried, or she could even ask some of the older chuunin to teach her a thing or two. That would probably be the smart thing to do. And she was the smart one of the group.

But smart moves didn't beat the odds. So Sakura decided that it was time to do something really, _really _stupid. And that night, Sakura decided she was going to break into the Konoha Archive Library.


	2. Chapter 2

If Sakura was going to be smart, really be smart, she needed to start doing what she had been supposed to be doing this entire time and look ahead. Looking ahead, however, required some looking behind first.

What she did know about Sasuke Uchiha is that, with the exception of his brother Itachi, he was the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan. She knew that Itachi had massacred the entire clan when Sasuke was seven years old; as to why Itachi would kill his own family, she had no hints, not even from Sasuke's vague muttering on the matter. She liked to believe no one was screwed up enough to kill their entire family for sadistic pleasure, but psychopaths existed and there was no ruling that out. Still, it wasn't enough information. Why hadn't anyone offered to take Sasuke on after the massacre? Had the village thought it acceptable to leave a seven-year-old boy to live alone in the Uchiha quarters? And more importantly, had there been any further investigation into Itachi's whereabouts? Itachi had been able to just wander into the village, put Sasuke into a coma, and attempt to kidnap Naruto, and barely anyone had been prepared to stop him. Why hadn't the movement of a mass murderer been monitored? Why hadn't Itachi been captured and brought in, or even executed for what he'd done? Claiming that an Uchiha was too powerful to take in had to be some sort of fallacy. Itachi had taken down his family, but an entire village? The Third Hokage? She was missing information, and it wasn't necessarily conspiracy level information, but the more she knew about the Uchihas in general, the better. Maybe they really could be that powerful, which would explain Orochimaru's obsession with Sasuke and explain how Itachi had so easily evaded the village and slaughtered his own.

What she knew about Naruto Uzumaki was that he was an orphan boy who'd had the Nine Tailed Fox sealed inside him after the beast's attack on Konoha a dozen years ago. He had no clan, no inheritance to his name, no bloodline jutsu, nothing but the Kyuubi's power. For unknown reasons, likely the Kyuubi itself, an organization called Akatsuki sought to kidnap him. This organization included Itachi Uchiha, and at one point had included Orochimaru himself. She needed to know more about the organization, but also about Naruto. Why had he been chosen to contain the Kyuubi? There had been plenty of orphans after the war to choose from, and more importantly, plenty of strong shinobi who would have been far more suited to dealing with the beast's power. And why, on top of everything, had the Kyuubi's sealing been kept secret from the village's youth? And most importantly of all…what was the Kyuubi, and why had it attacked the village to begin with?

Getting inside the archives would be the hard part, of course. They didn't even need surveillance, what with the layers upon layers of protective seals that had been laid on every door, but despite this there were shinobi guarding the perimeter with such tightness that Sakura hadn't been able to find any way to slip past them after a full week of silent watching.

So, she asked herself, what would Naruto have done?

Perhaps it was a strange question to immediately ask, but she'd learned through a grapevine that Naruto had managed to sneak a scroll of forbidden jutsu away from the archives after failing his genin exam for the third time. He'd been wet behind the ears then, not having learned half the jutsu and skills he'd used to get through the chuunin exams, and if he'd managed to do it, surely she could as well. She just had to think like him and put herself in his shoes.

It came to her after a solid day of considering options that Naruto was an expert at doing things that people didn't expect. And more importantly, she'd seen Naruto approach a 'perfectly protected' area before in the chuunin exams, finding a way around it by finding the one blind spot that one Hyuuga prodigy hadn't expected.

Distraction, and surprise. She didn't necessarily need the guards to be gone from the archives. She just needed them to not be looking while she tunneled under the building and made her way into it from beneath. Thankfully, she knew another infamous prankster who had the extra bonus of being related to the late Third, which meant that a little mischief wasn't likely to get him arrested. A quick smile, a bat of her eyes, and some careful pleading, and Konohamaru would be off creating some havoc with a large herd of expertly diverted cattle.

Then, Sakura prepared to get her hands dirty. Digging holes was something that had been taught in school, of course, as digging a hole large enough to hide oneself in the midst of battle was a 'typical shinobi technique'. This, of course, required some precise chakra control and the arm strength to push through the thicker layers of the dirt. Prolonged digging could lead to injury, of course, if your body wasn't prepared enough to keep up with the effort. Sakura knew that she didn't have Naruto's endurance. Digging a hole from a safe spot all the way beneath the Archive would only end in failure. She'd dig her hands raw and bloody before she made it halfway. Thankfully, she didn't need standard digging techniques in order to get the job done. She just needed the public library, and ample amount of time to learn some basic Earth-style ninjutsu. The Tunneling Technique was a common enough ninjutsu that she found a scroll with the hand-seals after but an hour of looking. From there, it was just practice. The Tunneling Technique required visualizing the entirety of the tunnel from start to finish. Estimating length was a bonus, though in the heat of battle such estimations were far too much to calculate quickly, so Sakura deduced that the knowledge wasn't entirely necessary. Still, she prepared as much as she could, guessing the length she'd need the tunnel to be and working on making tunnels precisely that long. Making the training grounds full of holes wasn't something she was particularly fond of doing, given that she needed to practice the jutsu required to fill them again, but hey, she could consider it training.

After two weeks of practice, taking on mundane missions, and putting in the right words with Konohamaru, her plan was set, and the day of the infiltration arrived. It was nerve-wracking, she had to admit. She'd never been a rule breaker, and for a first time, she was really breaking one of the biggest possible rules in the book. She could be imprisoned for life for daring to attempt such a thing. At the very least, she'd have to explain herself, probably directly to the Hokage, and she doubted that 'platonic concern' would pass as a reason for sneaking into a restricted area.

Still, it was a better reason than Naruto would have had on the night of his failed genin exam. Sakura took a deep breath, waited until she heard the thundering of hooves in the distance, and made four hand signs.

Ram. Dog. Rat. Bird. The Earth Release: Tunneling Technique.

A hole formed directly in front of her, large enough for her to crawl into, but small enough to be reasonably concealed for a decent length of time. Sakura didn't waste any time testing the hole's integrity before crawling in; she might only have one chance at this, and every second mattered. It was a long and dark crawl to the other side of the tunnel, and with every pull of her hands she felt herself become more anxious. There was no light at the other end of the tunnel; the archives were kept dark unless they were in use. Thankfully, that was a decent enough sign that there were no guards inside the building. Stupid, Sakura thought to herself, but she supposed the village hadn't thought anyone capable of getting inside, let alone someone like her. She pulled herself up and out into a quiet room. With a small click of her flashlight, the shelves lit up around her. She saw scroll after scroll, tome after tome…more than she could ever hope to read in a single night.

Sakura glanced back at the hole she'd made. She could go get food, but that would waste time she didn't have. They might have caught Konohamaru's herd by then. No, she had taken her one chance, and she wasn't going to waste it.

With a push of her chakra, she sealed the tunnel behind her. She'd eaten before she'd started this venture, which meant, according to her basic survival classes, that she had an average of three to four days before dehydration would kill her. Then, she'd need enough energy to create a tunnel and scamper her way home before any of the guards could figure out how someone had managed to create a tunnel on the inside of the building, and where to. She wouldn't have Konohamaru's distraction, which meant they'd almost certainly catch on the minute she made the tunnel. She'd have to move fast. And the only advantage she'd have would be that they wouldn't know where the tunnel led right away, which would give her enough time to get a head start running. Plus, they likely wouldn't be looking for a Konoha kunoichi, and she wasn't stealing anything, so they wouldn't have any damning evidence. She could do this. She just had to take a deep breath and start what she came to do.

So, Sakura picked a scroll and read.

It was several hours before she found a collection of scrolls related to the Akatsuki, and not long after before she found an entire scroll on what she read to be the 'Nine Tailed Beasts'. Not the Kyuubi, mind, who was a nine-tailed beast, but that there were nine beasts in total of immense chakra who once roamed the planet. Forces of nature, untamed by man…until one day they were tamed, several of them, by none other than Konoha's First Hokage. Though several of the beasts were traded out to other countries in order to broker peace, Konoha kept hold of the strongest of the bunch: the Kyuubi. Only, they weren't really tamed, they were merely sealed away within the bodies of shinobi with exceptionally high chakra levels. Shinobi of a certain clan name…Uzumaki.

So, it wasn't a coincidence that Naruto had been chosen to house the Kyuubi within his body. His clan had been doing it for three generations. The first, one Mito Uzumaki, had very little written on her, but the second, Kushina, had grown up within the hidden village. And not only that, she'd gotten married to a local shinobi.

No, not just any local shinobi. One Minato Namikaze…the Fourth Hokage. And from there, a scratched record on a scroll confirmed the final piece of the puzzle.

Naruto was the son of Kushina and the Fourth Hokage.

Sakura took a moment to process this revelation. Had Naruto known who his family was? No, he couldn't have. No one could have, else how could they have possibly come to loathe the son of the city's savior? The Fourth Hokage was revered as a martyr, and if it was known that he'd had a son, well…something was off. Some piece of the puzzle that these scrolls didn't go into. How was it that the Kyuubi had broken free of Kushina's seal to begin with? Did that mean it was possible the Kyuubi could break out of Naruto?

More questions, and fewer answers. Sakura felt as though she'd completed the edges to a puzzle, but now was slowly reaching into the box for the rest of the pieces. Only she was completely blind and didn't know where exactly in the box to reach, nor where the pieces even fit together.

If only Naruto were here, she lamented quietly. Not that Naruto would remember his parents, but maybe he'd heard some clues from others, some pieces that Sakura wasn't quite privy to.

As for the rest of the Tailed Beasts, Sakura found some curiosity in learning about the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku, whom was currently in the possession of Sunagakure. Gaara's 'monster', Sakura deduced. He and Naruto had been more similar than either of them had realized.

And the organization, Akatsuki, was looking for information on these Tailed Beasts, even going so far as to try and kidnap Naruto. Nothing was known as to the motives, why they wanted these Tailed Beasts so badly, but certain assumptions could be made. Seeing the power that the Kyuubi granted Naruto firsthand as she had was more than enough to convince her of the Kyuubi's worth, and that was just one of the nine. If the Akatsuki came into possession of all nine…well, they were already an organization of S-class missing nin. They'd be unstoppable. Sakura shuddered at the thought. Even without Sasuke's relation to Itachi, she was becoming scared of the man. He'd slaughtered his family, then joined such a fearsome organization. Itachi was becoming more villainous in her mind by the moment.

If only Sasuke were here, she lamented once more, chuckling a bit at her train of thought. Why, in but a few hours of illegal reading, she'd already deduced the most efficient way to hunt down Itachi, something she doubted Sasuke had put together yet. If he had simply stuck around with Naruto, Itachi would have eventually come to him again.

Not that they would have been prepared for such a monster, true. She was starting to see now why Sasuke had sought out Orochimaru. If the Hidden Leaf couldn't restrain such a person…who could? Though, the Third Hokage had fought Orochimaru off…

Still not enough information. Sakura buckled down and began to methodically go through scrolls.

The worst part about spending an entire day in a dark building full of dusty scrolls was not finding what you were looking for. Though she found ample information about the Tailed Beasts and the various Akatsuki members, there was absolutely nothing on the Uchiha clan other than Itachi's dossier. It was more like a void, a purposeful gap in information that roused Sakura's suspicions like nothing else. Not only had the clan been wiped out, but it seemed as though all of the information on them had been wiped out as well. Was it Itachi who had destroyed the records? Perhaps wanting to ensure certain clan secrets remained only with him? Then why leave Sasuke alive…why leave any competition or potential weaknesses alive?

Her stomach growled, and Sakura began to wonder how long she could stand hunger pains until her brain wasn't able to focus properly. Even a small drop of water would have been heavenly. Her eyes strained from squinting in the dim light, and words on scrolls were starting to blur together. She would have killed to have legal access to this place, the ability to read whenever she wanted, learn what she needed to…but that kind of clearance would take years to achieve. Years she didn't have.

The more she realized that she wasn't going to find anything Uchiha related, the more her attention began to linger on some of the other scrolls in the building. There was an entire wing dedicated to various jutsu techniques, some even being written records of clan techniques that she was sure certain clans would have killed her for even setting eyes upon. At first, she resisted looking at such scrolls, but eventually she couldn't help but take peeks. Not that she'd be able to learn any of these quick enough in her time here, but if she knew the mechanics of how they worked, she'd never be caught off guard by them. The Nara Shadow jutsus, the Yamanaka Mind jutsus, the Hyuuga Byakugan…records of all these prominent techniques were here, almost begging to be read. And perhaps it was the hunger delirium setting in, but Sakura eventually couldn't stop herself from reading everything she could get her hands on.

It was when the dizziness began to set in that Sakura realized she'd been in the building for longer than she could remember. With no clocks or sun to gauge the time, a week could have passed without her knowing. She was still conscious enough to know when her time was up; much longer and she'd starve to death.

Oh, but there was one more scroll she hadn't read yet…

Discipline, her inner voice shouted out at her. She had to remain disciplined. Maybe Naruto and Sasuke would have risked more time, but she wasn't them, and she needed to make sure she had enough chakra to make her escape.

She could always take a scroll, her delirious mind argued. Take something, learn the techniques, become a master of ninjutsu that none but the strongest could know about…

Stealing, her inner voice reminded her. That was stealing, and if she was caught, that would be a higher offense than just being caught in here reading. If they found her outside without a scroll, she could argue they had no proof she was in here. If they caught her with a scroll…

But how else was she going to get strong? She didn't have some sage to teach her new techniques. Kakashi had barely paid her any attention, focusing his eyes on Sasuke more often than herself or Naruto. Even though Naruto had made it to the final rounds of the chuunin exams, Kakashi had dumped him in the hands of another jounin. No, she didn't have anyone that could teach her things. Not her sensei. Not some sage. Only her scrolls, and that was it.

Well, she'd already made one stupid decision by breaking in here. What was one more? Sakura grabbed the first small scroll that she laid eyes on, something that she could fit in a pouch without arousing suspicion. Any of the larger ones would have held more secrets, but would have been far harder to hide. She had to have some measure of caution in her stupidity, didn't she?

She returned to the spot where she had exited her tunnel before, the ground there still broken up and soft, despite her having filled it in. It would make it easier to make the tunnel again, she hoped, if she was just reopening a tunnel from before. Sakura took a deep breath, attempting to compose herself. This would be the hardest part. This would be quick jutsu, running, hiding, deception, a high risk of danger and imprisonment…

But really, wasn't this what being a shinobi was all about?

For the first time in her year of wearing a leaf headband, Sakura felt like a shinobi at last.

Ram. Dog. Rat. Bird.

Sakura put her hands to the ground and prepared to run.


	3. Chapter 3

One of the most important techniques a shinobi could learn was the art of misdirection. Which now led Sakura to a very important question: could she still call it misdirection if it was accidental?

She'd made it through her exit hole in what was probably some sort of record, sealing it behind her, brushing the dirt off her pants, and gone about five feet before a jounin had landed nearby. To her credit, she'd stayed calm, only hesitating to make a mental note of which direction would probably be the best to make an escape. The jounin had taken a step towards her, and then…

He'd asked if she'd seen anything suspicious nearby.

To which she innocently replied that of course she hadn't, but if there was something going on she would be more than happy to help. That prompted the jounin to dismiss her and send her on her way, leaving Sakura behind with a quick leap to the trees. Sakura took a moment to breathe. She felt anxiety shaking its way into her hands and feet, and the weight of the small scroll she'd hidden in her waist-pack seemed to grow with every passing second. She exhaled and began to walk.

The unfortunate implication of the conversation was that clearly none of the village's jounin thought her strong enough to warrant a threat, or any suspicion. The fortunate implication of the conversation was the exact same realization. By distinguishing herself as someone who followed the rules and wasn't particularly talented, she'd essentially made herself invisible. Because of her own incompetence, she'd gotten away with breaking into a high security building _and_ stealing one of the valuable scrolls within. It was kind of funny, now that she thought about it. She'd accomplished in a week what the village had been certain nobody could do.

Maybe there was something to brashly running into a situation after all. Sakura made a mental note not to yell at Naruto so much for…well, being Naruto.

There were only two loose ends she needed to worry about. The first was out of her control; if the jounin she'd met ever thought to question what she'd been doing in the woods outside the archive, she was certain suspicion would fall on her immediately. Game over. Nothing she could do about that, so essentially this was a test of just how good at beating the odds she was compared to the rest of Team Seven. It was possible her luck was abysmal just to balance out the other two, but she could hope for otherwise. The second loose end was Konohamaru, and Sakura hoped that his little pranking incident was far enough in the past that no one would think to associate it. It wasn't the first time the kid had caused havoc, and it wouldn't be the last. That was what she was counting on.

So, with both loose ends out of her control, that left only one course of action to be done immediately, and that was to take a look at the scroll she'd filched.

Oh, and _eat_, of course. There was a strong possibility that was important.

Thankfully, her parents had never been the type to ask questions. The life of a shinobi was always going to be full of secrets, something they'd resigned themselves to once Sakura had been accepted as a genin. She'd never be able to tell them everything about her job. So, when she got home, she received a greeting from her mother and father and nothing more than that, allowing her to head straight to the kitchen for a bite and then straight to her bed for some much-needed sleep.

Sakura woke up more than half a day later. (She'd probably never slept so well in her life.) She was almost hesitant to open her eyes, afraid that she'd find a jounin squad waiting in her room to arrest her. There were only her books, however, and the only eyes staring at her were those from the pictures on her wall of Team Seven. She let her eyes linger on the photographs. The first one had been from when they'd first been assigned on a team together. She and Kakashi'd had the decency to smile, at least, but Naruto and Sasuke were both sulking for one reason or another. Usually she would scoff at the picture, but today she couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, you two." She said aloud as she reached for her pouch. "Today's the day I'm going to start catching up with the both of you. I'm not going to be left behind anymore."

She didn't even hesitate to open the scroll, eagerly peering at the contents within. Her eyes glanced over the hand signs and descriptions once, twice, a third time…

These…these were all _sensing_ jutsu!

Sakura groaned out loud. Of all the scrolls that had been in that archive, she picked the one that didn't have anything offensive at all! This wouldn't help her show up Sasuke's Chidori or Naruto's new Rasengan. Oh, but she'd be really good at finding them in the woods if they happened to get lost. In a fit of anger, she threw the scroll against her bedroom wall, watching it bounce and unravel on the floor in front of her. She'd gone through all that damn work for such a stupid scroll. It would be stupid to try and go back for another one, right?

She allowed herself to grump all through breakfast and all through getting ready for the day. The scroll remained on the floor, and Sakura had to tell herself not to step on it as she made her way around her room.

Eventually, she returned to sitting on her bed, staring at the scroll at her feet. She'd been gone a couple days, so it would probably be wise to report to Tsunade and let her know that her 'vacation' had ended. But…she was also recovering from a couple days of starvation and sleep deprivation. She could probably afford to take another day for herself. And even if this scroll didn't have the flashy, powerful jutsu she'd been hoping for, it would probably still be good to learn what she could from it, right?

Sakura let herself groan again before scooping the scroll off the floor. If she could do anything, it was read, and damn it all, she was going to make sure her stunt had been worth the effort.

* * *

Chakra was a unique blend of one's physical and spiritual energies. This was Shinobi 101. The more a shinobi trained their body, and the more they practiced jutsu, the more their chakra would develop, and the more powerful jutsu they'd be able to perform.

(Sakura figured she could use this as an excuse for practicing these stupid sensing jutsu over and over again. It was technically training, right?)

The first and foremost technique among the sensing branch of jutsu was being able to detect the presence of chakra to begin with. It didn't tell you anything about the chakra; it was more like asking if someone who could use chakra was present nearby. This jutsu was easy enough to practice, especially here in the village where she could gauge its success near instantly. The immediate problem was that Sakura's current sensory range was a spectacular five meters, and if that's how close she had to be to detect a chakra user, that essentially made the technique useless.

But, she had to give herself _some_ credit. The first time she'd tried the technique, her range had been a measly two meters. She'd doubled her range in a morning of practice, and if she continued to double it every half day, why, she'd be able to sense the entirety of Konoha after a week of practice!

Ha. She wished it worked like that.

The improvement did give her some hope, however. This rudimentary jutsu barely required any chakra at all to use, which meant she could practice frequently, and if she kept getting better this quickly, she could advance to the more complicated sensory jutsus in no time. She'd become the best damn sensing shinobi the village had ever seen. Sure, she wouldn't be able to _do_ anything to an enemy after she'd sense them, but hey, she'd know where they were!

So, Sakura continued to practice, making her way through the village and quietly figuring out where every nearby shinobi was. It was inevitable, she supposed, that she would run into some familiar faces along the way. Her concentration was broken by an extremely loud voice penetrating her ear drums.

"SAKURA! OVER HERE!"

Sakura winced, looking over to see a familiar green-suited shinobi waving at her from a nearby booth. The rest of Team Guy were busy eating, no doubt having settled after a mission of some sorts. Despite being startled, Sakura gave Lee a warm smile as she made her way over to him.

"Hey Lee. Long day?"

"More like a long _week_." Lee's teammate, Tenten, commented. "Tsunade's having us run messages to Suna so we can establish which routes are the quickest. And this one…" She jabbed at Lee. "Wants to break a world record running there."

"There is hardly a point to establish a quickest route if you are not trying to get there as quick as possible!" Lee countered. "It is not my fault if you are unable to keep up. That only means that you require more training!"

"Oh, give me a break…" Tenten sighed into her meal. Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at this. Lee was always the same old Lee, even after everything. He couldn't even use jutsu, but he'd still become formidable enough that other shinobi couldn't hope to keep up with him. If he could do that, well, she could perfect her own new jutsu. She just had to train as hard as he did, if that was even possible.

She froze, an idea suddenly sparking in her mind.

"It sounds like you could use someone to wear Lee out a bit." Sakura spoke up. "Maybe someone to train with him?"

Tenten looked shocked at the suggestion, but before she could reply, Lee began to shout over her.

"Sakura, do you mean to say that you would want to train with me?" She could almost see the hearts appearing in the boy's eyes. She knew Lee had a crush on her, and she wasn't trying to take advantage of that, but Lee _was_ the best taijutsu user that she knew well enough to ask for help. She had to train her body as well as practice her jutsu if she wanted to get better, and even if it was probably going to kill her, training with Lee was going to be the best way to do that. She gave Lee a nod.

"Yeah. I…well, I'm trying to get stronger, you see, and I figure training in taijutsu is a good place to- "

"Then we shall train together, and we'll make you the best fighter in the whole village! After me and Gai-sensei, of course!" Lee stood up, already raring to go, before being pulled back down by Tenten.

"At least eat your lunch first, and we have to report to Tsunade after this. Train with Sakura later."

"But the spark of youth waits for no one, Tenten! Sakura's ready to train, so we must begin immediately!"

"Actually, I could probably stand to wait until tomorrow. I'm practicing a new jutsu today." Sakura piped up. "Maybe we could start in the morning, before I do missions for the day?"

"So it shall be, Sakura! Be ready bright and early for the best training of your life!"

Bright and early. That she could do. She gave Lee her word that she would be up to train before heading back off into the village for more practice sensing. By the time she returned home, almost completely drained of chakra, she'd increased her range to a full ten meters. It was enough to make her feel good about herself, something she hadn't managed to feel since…

Well, it had been a while.

* * *

The next morning, her pride turned into immediate regret.

Lee trained _hard_. There was no other way of putting it. He set goals for himself that Sakura was certain no human was capable of reaching, and when he inevitably did not reach said goal, he 'repented' by immediately assigning himself another one. At first, it seemed rather ridiculous. Sakura knew she couldn't hope to keep up, let alone even come close to making any of the goals, and after the first fifteen minutes of push-ups, sit-ups, running, jumping, punching, kicking…she felt as though her body was going to just quit without any say from herself.

But…this wasn't meant to be a one-day fix. She wasn't going to get stronger after just one session with Lee, and Lee hadn't gotten this strong after just one day of practice either. He'd pushed himself this hard every day until his body had gotten capable of getting closer to meeting these absurd goals, and Sakura had seen the results. Strong, fast, with reflexes quicker than anyone…_she_ could be like that if she trained like this every day. It would take years to reach Lee's level, but any sort of improvement she could take before Naruto got back was something that would help when they went to find Sasuke again.

So, Sakura pushed herself, harder than she'd ever pushed herself before. Sure, it took her half an hour to get through Lee's one hundred assigned pushups, and sure, her shins were bruised purple from kicking at a practice dummy for so long, but this was just step one, she kept telling herself. This was just step one.

Less difficult was explaining to Tsunade why she looked so exhausted after half a week of vacation time. All she had to do was mention Lee's involvement, and that was enough to dismiss the questioning entirely. With that, it was back to mundane missions, and the start of a routine. Early morning taijutsu training with Lee, missions, then afternoon jutsu training. Her sensory range wasn't improving at the rate she'd hoped, but it was improving, enough so that she'd allow herself to move onto more complicated ones soon enough.

A week passed, and then, just as Sakura was beginning to hit a rhythm, a bomb dropped, in the form of an announcement from Tsunade.

"I've decided that it is not beneficial for you to be working solo missions any longer." Tsunade told her. "We need you to be part of a team again so you can help out with more important missions. I'm going to be assigning you to a new team, starting tomorrow."

Sakura's heart seemed to sink into her stomach. As far as she stood, one thing was abundantly clear. She was Team Seven, not some addition to some strange team she'd probably never met before. She could not allow herself to be put on another team.

She gritted her teeth and voiced her acceptance to Tsunade, but deep down her mind was beginning to plan.

It was time to do something stupid again.


	4. Chapter 4

The new team wasn't terrible in the way that cold soup wasn't terrible. You could deal with it, maybe even grow to appreciate it over time, but at the end of the day, it just wouldn't be as good as the hotter variety.

(Sakura liked the double entendre of her metaphor.)

The team was made up of a jounin and two genin a couple years her senior. They had lost a team member during Orochimaru's invasion, and Tsunade had declared their mourning period over by assigning Sakura to their group. Maybe Tsunade had hoped that their loss of a teammate could be something Sakura related to, and maybe if Sakura hadn't developed her own plans, she could have let herself.

In a way, she felt bad for the team. They'd put their best foot forward in trying to be welcoming to her, and she was inevitably going to disappoint them. Was this how Sasuke had felt, when he'd made the decision to join Orochimaru? He'd claimed that she was incapable of understanding him, that _no one _was capable of understanding him. Funny how now, in following in his footsteps, Sakura felt like she understood him better than she ever had before.

Of course, the difference between Sasuke and herself was that when she decided to leave the village, she didn't just up and wander off without a thought to the consequences. She was going to plan. She was going to leave in a way that wouldn't arouse suspicion for a while, a couple days if she was lucky, and she was going to leave for a place that nobody would think to find her.

It had admittedly taken her a while to decide on her future plans. There was a part of her, a very dominant part of her, that had thought about simply going to find Sasuke and joining him. It was possible she'd get killed in the process, but if she went in swearing allegiance to Sasuke, and possibly even Orochimaru, she figured she could at least get taken in as some sort of guard. She could stay close to Sasuke without getting in the way of his ambition and do whatever it took to keep him safe from Orochimaru.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? Orochimaru. Sakura couldn't allow herself to be in that creep's presence for more than a minute, even if it meant being near Sasuke. She couldn't swear any sort of allegiance to him. What would Naruto think? What would she think of herself?

She loved Sasuke, more than anything, but there were depths that she couldn't allow herself to sink to.

This didn't exactly leave her a ton of other options. She couldn't stay, not with this new team, and if she rebelled against Tsunade, that would just get her status as a ninja revoked, or something equally severe. Even Naruto eventually bowed his head when the Hokage gave an order. But if she wasn't going to Sasuke, where exactly could she hope to go? And what would she be doing? She had her scroll to study, but eventually she'd run out of things to practice. (Not to mention money, potentially food…she'd never been the greatest at hunting, even if she could recite every proper camping technique she'd learned at school from memory.)

Sakura needed a goal. She already had the goal of learning her scroll and getting stronger, but she needed a more primary goal that she could dedicate the next couple years to. (Something that would justify running away from the village, getting labelled a missing-nin, and all the wonderful perks that came with that.) So, Sakura changed her focus. If there wasn't anything she could do to help Sasuke, short of getting strong enough to pummel Orochimaru's face into the dirt, then maybe there was something she could do to help _Naruto_ instead.

This didn't mean traipsing off to find him and Jiraiya, of course. She knew Jiraiya had a reputation for going his own way, but she had the feeling she'd be sent right back home to Tsunade the instant Jiraiya caught sight of her. No, she would have to help him in another way, and that way was doing what had gotten her started on her mild crime spree to begin with. She was going to have to gather information. She was going to find out whatever she could about Akatsuki and about the Tailed Beasts, so that when Naruto returned she could help him master his own strength and keep him safe.

From there, Sakura started forming a plan. She didn't want to waste too much time in the village, now that her mind was made up, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to take advantage of the fact that she _did_ have a bit of time to waste. Going on higher ranked missions with her new team meant a higher income, all of which she could put towards preparing for her journey. It also meant opportunities to train. She didn't inform her jounin superior about her newly learned sensing jutsu, but she could still practice it on missions. (Gaining, in the process, a reputation for having incredibly keen senses…something Sakura wasn't going to dispute.)

She gave herself two weeks. Two more weeks of narrowing down a training schedule with Lee, two weeks to build up her wallet, and two more weeks to perfect the jutsu that was going to be the linchpin of her escape plan. In a twist of fate, her sensing jutsu was going to prove essential.

She couldn't leave by the main road, of course. She'd be far too easy to track. That was where Sasuke had gone wrong, and because of Sasuke, the security at the main gate had since doubled. That meant that Sakura had to leave the village in a more indirect way, namely under the surrounding walls. She'd already gotten well practiced at the Tunneling technique, and since it didn't necessarily matter where she showed up on the other side, she didn't need to practice preciseness. All she needed to practice was speed and sensing, so she could avoid anyone that might try to stop her.

* * *

The day of her plan's execution arrived, and it took everything Sakura had not to give into her nerves. Spending the morning with Lee almost did her in; thinking about how he'd react when he heard what she'd done…

Well, as Lee put it, getting stronger wasn't supposed to be easy. Going her own way was definitely not going to be easy, and if she let Lee stop her from her goals, then she certainly wouldn't be good enough for Sasuke.

She started planting the seeds of her plan as she spent the day with her assigned team. They usually ate lunch together, and it was easy enough to convince the others that something she'd eaten hadn't quite agreed with her. Eventually, she was sent home 'sick', along with permission to take the next day off. Perfect. That meant that nobody would think to question her absence for at least a day, longer if she was lucky, and all she could hope was that it was enough of a head start to foil anyone who might be sent to retrieve her.

When she made it to her room, step two of the plan began. She'd already begun packing all the supplies she needed for the journey, including a backpack full of water and non-perishable food, as well as a brand-new set of shinobi tools she'd spent her past two weeks savings on. She had shuriken, she had kunai, she had summoning scrolls with traveling equipment, and in the spot of honor at her hip, she had the scroll that had started it all. From there, she had two things to leave behind in her room.

A shinobi was a master of misdirection. That was one of the first lessons she'd learned as a student, and her plan for misdirection was so simple that it couldn't help but bring a smile to her face. Once again, she benefited from being predictable and consistently underestimated.

On her desk, she left her Konoha headband. For dramatic effect, she took one of her kunai to the metal plate, making a long slash across the leaf symbol. Sasuke's headband had come back with a similar marking, so it would help reinforce the second thing she was leaving behind: a short letter detailing her desire to be with Sasuke, and the statement that she was leaving Konoha to go join Sasuke and Orochimaru. She signed the letter with a flourish and left it next to the headband. Her definitive statement on leaving the village. She felt the pit in her stomach that she had been ignoring grow larger as the weight of this sunk in.

She was really doing this. She was leaving her home on a quest for knowledge. She might never be accepted back. She might not even _find_ anything that could help Naruto.

But damn it all, she had to try.

* * *

It was still daytime, but thankfully all she really had to do at first was avoid her team. Nobody else had heard the news that she'd been sent home with a stomach ache, and everyone else who knew her would just be assuming she was getting ready to go off on a longer mission. Since she knew that her team would be taking a patrol mission, this made things difficult. They would be on the outskirts of the village, and she had no way of knowing exactly where unless she stumbled into them. However, this did mean that until she reached the outskirts, she had little risk of being uncovered.

More practice at misdirection, she decided. Her initial goal was to appear as casual as possible as she made her way to her predesignated 'digging' point. Since the guards wouldn't be looking for anyone approaching the wall from the inside, she had a small advantage. As long as she stayed within the cover of trees and far enough away from patrols, she had no doubt she could create her tunnel without being noticed. The problem was someone catching sight of her on the other side. She would have to go through her tunnel slowly, preserving energy, so that if she _was_ discovered, she'd have the energy to make a break for it.

It was perhaps because her thoughts were occupied on these possibilities that Sakura didn't notice Kakashi until she quite literally bumped into him.

It would have been startling even if she _wasn't_ planning on leaving the village. Kakashi had been sent on missions near constantly since the breakup of Team Seven, which was part of the reason Sakura had been doing missions on her own before her reassignment. That he was in the village at all was some sort of unlucky 'miracle', and of course since she'd been stupid enough to bump into him, that meant they had to talk. Catch up.

"Sakura!" Kakashi's eyes indicated a smile, and Sakura could feel her heart breaking a little bit. Damn it all, she hadn't even considered how Kakashi would react to her leaving too. But she mustn't dwell on it, she mustn't.

"Hey there, Kakashi-sensei!" She allowed herself to slip into a happy tone, doing her best not to appear suspicious. "Sorry to rush, but…" Suddenly, an idea formed in her head. Information gathering, that was what she was leaving to do. So, she needed to get good at it. "But I'm trying to catch up with my new team. I wasn't feeling so well earlier, so they left on patrol without me, but now I'm feeling better. You haven't happened to see what direction they went, have you?"

"I think I might have seen them by the gate when I came in. By now, they're probably on the east side of the village." Kakashi looked thoughtful, but still beamed at her as they spoke. "I must say, when Tsunade told me you'd been reassigned, I didn't think you'd take it this well."

"Well, someone has to be the grown up of Team Seven, right sensei?"

"Ouch, Sakura. I might almost think you're implying I'm not the grown up."

"Maybe if you had ever been on time, I might be thinking differently!" Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit more light-hearted at the banter. It was so…familiar. Like things hadn't changed. Like things weren't about to change.

She paused, her stomach sinking slightly again, and this time Kakashi noticed. He looked away, off towards the direction of the gate. Thinking about Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura deduced. How could he not be? Kakashi had been a part of Team Seven too. Did he blame himself for what had happened?

"Sakura…"

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura found herself speaking without thinking. "I'm going to get stronger. For both of them. When Naruto gets back, we're going to be good enough to take down Orochimaru and anyone else who gets in our way." Kakashi looked back at her, slightly surprised at the outburst. Even she wasn't quite sure why she was saying it. Maybe it was something he needed to hear. "Until then, you keep getting stronger too, Kakashi-sensei. Team Seven is always going to need a leader."

Silence. Then, another smile from Kakashi. He reached out suddenly, putting a gentle hand on her head.

"Don't give up."

There was a strangeness in Kakashi's words, a sort of hidden reverence that Sakura didn't understand. When she looked in her sensei's eyes, it was almost like they weren't even his words at all, but someone else's being echoed.

Before she could process the words further, Kakashi was walking away, giving her a small wave as he left. Sakura put a hand to her head. Don't give up…well, of course she wasn't going to give up! That was the whole damn point of her leaving!

But, even though it wasn't direct, this was almost like getting Kakashi's blessing on the matter. He hadn't shot her down. He hadn't said there was no way in hell she'd ever be strong enough. Simply…don't give up. She could get stronger. She could defeat Orochimaru. She could save Sasuke.

Sakura reached her digging spot without any more interruptions. Her team was on the east side of the gate, if Kakashi was correct, and she was aiming for the southwest side. No risk of them spotting her and questioning, and if another shinobi spotted her, she could potentially argue her way out of trouble, like she had with Kakashi. She was just looking for her team, after all, that was why she was packed and running around the outskirts of the city. She'd worried about needing to run for nothing.

With a deep breath, she focused her chakra outwards. There were two shinobi on the wall nearby that she would have to avoid, and that was about as thin a number as she was going to find. Now was the time.

A few hand signs later and she was crawling through her tunnel to the other side of Konoha's walls. By the time she reached the other side, there were still only the two shinobi in her radius. Sakura peeked out of the tunnel, looking around carefully before catching sight of the wall nearby. Through the denseness of the surrounding forest, it was hard to pick out the shinobi guarding the walls. Just as hard, she hoped, to pick out herself in the trees. She took another deep breath before pulling herself out of the hole, then quickly began to fill it behind her. When she looked up at the guard shinobi again, they hadn't moved. Perfect.

She quietly pulled out the small map she'd bought. If she continued to head southwest, she wouldn't need to look at the map for a while. It would be easier to navigate once nightfall hit, and she fully intended to switch her schedule once she was far enough outside the city limits. For now…just southwest. She kept slow and close to trees at first, waiting until she could no longer see the walls of the village before breaking into a manageable sprint. After about a month of training with Lee, she was already faster, and less winded. She'd be able to run for a long time before needing rest, which was good. She needed to cover ground to get a head start from anyone hunting her…and it was a long way to her destination. Three days, if she ran with minimal rest.

There was only one place that she knew she'd be able to get information about the Tailed Beasts for certain, and that was because Sakura knew that one lived there. She hoped that his connection to Naruto would be enough to at least grant an audience, and she could move on from there.

For now…running. Running until she reached the Village Hidden in the Sand.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been days since Sakura had slept.

Initially her insomnia had started out of paranoia. After hours of running, she'd finally found herself a lush tree to spend the night in, but every single noise in the night had served to put her on edge. Maybe the branch cracking in the distance had been some nocturnal creature on the prowl, but what if it was a shinobi sent to hunt her down? What if the occasional chirping she heard from nearby crickets was actually some sort of Anbu signaling technique, letting others know that she'd been found? Even when she did feel her eyes starting to shut, they were quickly opened again by whatever strange sound the forest decided to throw at her next. She spent her first night on the run awake and with a kunai clutched in her hand.

When morning hit, she had no choice but to push herself to move forward. The closer she was to the village, the more likely she was to get caught. She'd given herself a head start, but there were certainly shinobi who would hunt without rest. She figured she still had _some_ time; they'd most likely look in the direction of the Sound Country first, but if someone figured out the ruse, it was only a matter of time before someone with enough speed could catch up to her. She had to keep moving.

The next night she reached the edge of the forest boundary, and only wasted a couple of hours trying to sleep before realizing it was futile. Plus, the desert would be easier to navigate under the veil of night, without the hot sun beating down on her. She would travel through the night, she decided, and then find somewhere to try and sleep once daylight hit.

It was a decent enough plan in her mind, but Sakura ran into a second problem. She was nowhere near as good at navigating a desert as she thought she'd be.

When she _could_ see the stars, navigating was easy. But the desert in Wind Country was…well, full of wind. Clouds too, those were what were holding her back the most. She couldn't navigate if she couldn't see, and she definitely could barely even keep a running pace with the wind whipping up sand into her eyes. Sakura knew there was a main road that could be followed to the Sand Village, maybe even side ones that merchants took to avoid major traffic, but that would be just what someone hunting her would expect, wouldn't it? If she took a road, she might be spotted by others, and even if they weren't Leaf Shinobi, they'd remember her, and that was just one more clue for someone else to find her. No, she couldn't take a road. She had to persevere through the desert, and that meant persevering through wind and cloud and whatever else the desert decided to throw at her. She supposed she should have been grateful that there were wind and clouds; it kept the heat off her, even if the wind seemed to cut at her skin like daggers.

A true shinobi must never show any weakness. A true shinobi must put the mission first. If she couldn't conquer a desert, how could she possibly hope to keep up with Sasuke and Naruto?

Her one consolation was that if she was having this much trouble navigating, anyone looking for her would have that much trouble finding her. The wind ensured she left behind no footprints in the sand, and she doubted anyone could sense her chakra this deep into the desert. (She certainly couldn't sense anything, though whether that was due to fatigue or genuine absence of nearby shinobi was debatable.)

It was Sakura's fourth night when she realized precisely why lack of sleep was such a burden. She'd used her Tunneling jutsu to create a cave to shelter herself through the day, but she had to constantly remove sand that built up at the entrance. Every use of her technique to clear the hole was getting harder and harder. What was worse, she wondered? Being buried alive in the desert or dying to the sun and the sands above? Even during the chuunin exams she had never felt so exhausted.

Seconds seemed to take hours to pass. Sakura's breathing echoed in her mind until it didn't feel like her own. Every movement that her eyes caught made her twitch. Was it more sand coming in? An enemy shinobi?

…Sasuke? Naruto?

Anyone?

Day five, and Sakura was no longer certain which direction she was walking. The stars all looked the same, no matter how long she compared them to her map. She was fairly certain one of these constellations pointed the right way to…where was she going again? It was hard to focus…the Sand Village, that was where. She needed to get to the Sand…no, she was already at sand, there was sand everywhere. Village, she had to get to the village…

She felt something rest against the back of her neck, and she froze. Another hallucination? No…an enemy.

"Don't move." A voice rang out from behind her. "What are you doing out here?"

What was she doing? Sakura struggled to form words. Her vision was blurring, or was that just the wind? "Village." She managed to croak out. "I have to get to the village."

"Wait a minute, I think I recognize her..."

Sakura felt her heart freeze in her chest. Recognize? Were these Leaf shinobi? Her hand went to her hip, pulling out a kunai. "Don't." She turned, attempting to raise her blade. "Don't try to…" Her foot slipped, and she felt herself begin to fall backwards. Everything was blurred as she fell, and her grip on her kunai loosened. No, not yet, she couldn't allow herself to pass out yet. She couldn't let herself be brought back to Konoha.

Not yet…not yet…

* * *

Sakura's eyes flew open, and her hands went for another weapon. She found nothing at her hip except for a mess of blankets around her. She was on…a bed? She blinked once, twice, looking at her surroundings. Her pouches and scrolls had been laid on a table nearby, though her weapons were notably absent. The room wasn't familiar, definitely not any room she'd ever seen in Konoha before. She could hear the moans of wind outside, and the only light was that of a small candle that had been lit on the table. Not at Konoha, no, but where was she, then?

Her stomach growled, causing her to focus. She must have gotten some sort of rest, and whomever had approached her in the desert had been kind enough to find her a bed. So…not an enemy, and since she wasn't in Konoha, likely not a Leaf shinobi either. Still, she was hungry, and she needed answered. She forced herself to stand up from the bed and make her way to her pouches. She still had water at the very least, and probably some leftover jerky…

As she rummaged through her first pouch, the door to the room opened, and her questions were answered. A young woman with her blonde hair up in ponytails opened the door, a large fan slung across her back. Sakura recognized her almost immediately; this was one of the Sand shinobi that had caused them so much trouble during the chuunin exams. (And had come to the aid of her friends when they'd gone after…)

"I thought I heard something. Looks like the Konoha brat is finally up." There was a sort of condescending smirk on the woman's face. (Temari, had that been her name?) "I knew the Leaf had some dumb kids but I never thought they'd have someone stupid enough to try and walk through a sandstorm. You're lucky to be alive."

Well…it wasn't like she was wrong, but Sakura couldn't help but inwardly cringe at the bluntness of Temari's words. "So…the desert isn't normally like that?"

"You definitely caught it on a bad day. Now, what was so important that you came all the way out here on your own? Does Konoha have another crisis?"

"No." Sakura shook her head, turning to start clipping her pouches back on. "I needed to get here to meet with Gaara, and I'm sort of on a time limit. I'm sorry to intrude but it's urgent that I speak with him."

"Urgent?" Temari looked her up and down, and Sakura couldn't help but look away. It was like the kunoichi was seeing right through her. "So Konoha's not in crisis but seeing Gaara is 'urgent'. I'm going to need more to go on than that. I know we're allied with the Leaf, but we found you alone in the middle of our territory looking half dead. That's suspicious as hell no matter how you look at it."

"Yeah, I guess so." Sakura continued to look down, shuffling her feet. "I promise, I'm just here for information. You can keep my kunai if you're suspicious. Once I've talked with Gaara, I'll be leaving." That was the current plan, anyway. If Suna found out that she was now technically a missing nin, well, she wasn't sure what they'd do, but turning her in was a distinct possibility. The less time she spent here, the better. She looked up again to see Temari still examining her, but the condescension was gone, instead replaced by a look of curiosity, and then sympathy.

"Alright, Leaf brat. You look starved. We'll eat, and you'll tell me what you need. Then we'll decide what to do with you."

Sakura got the feeling she had no other choice. At the very least, there'd be food.

The inside of the building was bland, tan stone that winded around in what appeared to be endless hallways, and yet, there were very few people that passed her by as she followed Temari. If this really was the Sand Village, it was incredibly sparse.

Well…they were still recovering from a small war. How many Sand shinobi had died trying to invade Konoha? Sakura didn't want to consider it. How could their villages be allies, after all this? Was it possible that the Sand held no resentment towards the Leaf? Even if it had been orchestrated by Orochimaru, Orochimaru had been Leaf himself, once. And yet, she'd been brought her and given a bed. And they had come to help get Sasuke, back when they'd needed aid.

It was complicated. But Sakura wasn't going to let herself complain about the help, nor the peace that had somehow been achieved. Maybe it was some sort of miracle, but it was the good kind, for now.

Her thoughts shifted gears as she tried Suna food for the first time. Different spices were more common out here in the desert, and the food was spicy enough to make her mouth burn. Sakura tried not to show it. Temari already thought her a weak idiot, no doubt, and shinobi couldn't afford to show weakness. She swallowed down the food and did her best to hold back tears of pain.

"So, Gaara, huh?" Temari spoke as Sakura ate. "Not sure what you want with him after all he put you through. He's out on patrol currently but he'll probably be back in a couple of days."

"A couple days?" Sakura groaned. "That's not nearly quick enough. Maybe you can direct me so I can go meet him?"

"Yeah, because you going out alone in the desert worked out so well last time." Temari laughed. "I know you're in a hurry, but you'd be better off waiting here. The sandstorm should clear up by the end of the week, anyway. You can meet with Gaara and be on your way without losing the road again."

"Right. Losing the road." That was a good enough excuse, Sakura figured. She didn't like having to wait around, but if that was what it took, that was what it took. "Well, this my first time here. I don't want to be a burden on you, so if you direct me to an inn, I can stay there until- "

"Sure, but you still need to answer my questions. What's so urgent that you need Gaara for?"

Sakura frowned. She'd wanted to keep things mostly to herself but…this was necessary too. "I'm researching the Tailed Beasts." She started. "There's an organization called Akatsuki that is hunting them down, made up entirely of S-ranked missing nin. They've already come after my teammate once, and they took down four jounin in the process. It's only a matter of time before they come after Gaara too."

Temari's eyes widened at this. "What? How long have you known about this?"

"Not long." Sakura admitted. "It was right before the incident with…you know, when you came to help us out. I'm trying to find out more about them to help protect my teammate, but to do that I need to know more about the Tailed Beasts and why they want them. Plus, Naruto, he…well, if he understood what's inside him better, maybe he could control it better. And that goes for Gaara as well. I think we can help each other. No, we _have_ to help each other. If an organization like Akatsuki gets ahold of the power of those monsters, I don't even want to think about what might happen."

Temari was silent after this, and Sakura took the chance to finish her meal. It was probably heavy to hear, but it _was_ true. There was a lot more on the line here than just Naruto. Gaara and all of the others who had Tailed Beasts inside them were in danger. She hadn't even considered it before now, but if Konoha was the only village that knew about Akatsuki, then that was a huge danger itself. Akatsuki could have been going after other Jinchuuriki this whole time, maybe even succeeding. If they got even just one of the Beasts…

"I'll have to bring this up with our council." Temari finally spoke. "This sort of information changes things. If what you say is true, the Leaf will have our gratitude for the warning."

Temari still thought she was working for Konoha. Well, she supposed that would work for now. They certainly wouldn't be reporting her to Konoha if they thought she was here on official business. Sakura didn't bother correcting her.

"Well, thank you for the food." Sakura bowed her head in gratitude. "If there's anything else you want to know, I'll tell you. I'm really just here to talk with Gaara, and I can tell you all I know about Akatsuki if you want. I don't know much, but it seems like it's more than you currently have."

With that, for the first time, Temari smiled. She stood up, gesturing for Sakura to follow. "Come on, let's find you a room, Leaf brat. If you're going to be so forthcoming, it's the least I can do. You can tell me about Akatsuki on the way."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. For now, she was safe. Whether she was destined to be caught and taken back to Konoha, or if she could continue her reconnaissance uninterrupted, either way, all she could do right now was wait.


	6. Chapter 6

Everyone's chakra had a nature and a signature.

This was beginner stuff. Sakura had learned the concept in school, but they hadn't bothered to go much further than concept, as it was expected that one's jounin instructor would help their genin learn their nature, and signatures were only really important for sensing shinobi. Sakura had never seen herself as a sensing type. Kakashi had mentioned on occasion that she tended towards genjutsu, something that had never panned out due to Kakashi's focus on Sasuke, but if the tendency was there, it was definitely something to explore down the line. But she didn't _have_ a genjutsu scroll, she had a sensing scroll, and that was just how the cards had fallen.

That didn't mean there weren't some interesting cards in the deck. The next jutsu written out on the scroll was a more specific type of sensing, meant to, over time, be combined with the first so that a shinobi could not only sense how many shinobi were in an area and where, but also what _type_ of shinobi they were, and where a specific one was if they knew the signature. (This combination jutsu was referred to as an A-rank technique, and Sakura wasn't stupid enough to think she was going to master that in a day, but it would serve adequately as a 'future goal' to strive for.) If she really was a genjutsu type, being able to determine how many shinobi she needed to affect, as well as the best way to affect them, well…that would certainly make things a lot easier on her. Even just 'knowing her enemy' was a desirable enough skill.

There was a problem, though, because of course there was. She could use the jutsu easily enough on a first try, and could easily tell that there were differences in nature between every shinobi in her range. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was that she had no idea _which_ natures she was looking at. Without a teacher to tell her that a certain person tended towards 'earth' or 'wind' or whichever, all that Sakura could deduce from the jutsu was that people were different from each other, which was entirely useless information. She could (probably correctly) assume that Temari was 'wind' based and go from there, but that was still just an assumption, and she didn't want to put her life on the line going off of an assumption. If she'd been in Konoha she could have just asked each shinobi what they tended towards, but here in Suna? They had an alliance, sure, but going around questioning individual shinobi about their chakra would definitely be seen as suspicious. Gathering information to be used in the future, perhaps.

Equally frustrating was the realization that she couldn't use the jutsu to sense her own chakra. She'd always been curious as to which was she tended, but chakra paper was expensive, and there was no way she could afford it now without income. So, Sakura was left mastering an ability that was absolutely useless to her without some sort of teacher.

This led to an afternoon of moping for Sakura, which she allowed herself. (She'd braved the Suna desert for days, after all, so she deserved a mope break.) Naruto had gone off with Jiraiya, and Sasuke was (unfortunately) training under Orochimaru. Logically, she probably should have gone to Tsunade for aid, maybe even asked to be her apprentice, but how could she take the tutelage of someone who knew so much yet refused to act on it? Tsunade was content enough to play things safe. In a way, Sakura got it. In a world of unknown enemies, it was logical to play things safe, keep withdrawn, ensure they didn't provoke their enemy's ire before they were prepared for it.

But the problem was that Tsunade didn't even seem to be _preparing_. Sakura had gotten more done and learned more in the past month than in the entirety of her career as a shinobi. Following the rules, staying back, keeping safe...time had proven that shit just didn't get _done_ that way. She hadn't survived the chuunin exams by holding back.

And...well, she couldn't hold back now, could she? Maybe she didn't know what all of these damn chakras correlated with, but that didn't mean she shouldn't practice. One day she would know, and by then she'd be so damn good at this jutsu that she could tell chakras apart in her _sleep._

So Sakura made her hand signs and concentrated once more, and once more her senses were overwhelmed with information. There were shinobi everywhere, so many that auras seemed to blend together. It was difficult narrowing down single shinobi. Sakura had begun to gain a newfound respect for official sensing shinobi; it was difficult to concentrate without getting much of a headache.

To the north there were...three shinobi, yes, it had to be three. One of them had a nature that Sakura had dubbed in her mind to be a 'riling' energy, something that seemed to swell up within her and push her to action. It was the most distinct of the natures, and the majority of the shinobi here seemed to have that nature. The other two, however, had a nature that felt better to Sakura: it was calming, putting her at ease and making her feel safe. She had a small inkling that whatever this nature was, it was probably _her_ nature too, and maybe if she watched these shinobi long enough she could get some sort of inkling as to-

All at once, her senses were engulfed by a single chakra. Behind her, directly behind her, an energy seemed to slam into her, and all that Sakura could process was Death, Death and Blood and Pain and everything that terrified her, an chakra that seemed to make every cell in her body scream in fear. Her hand flew to one of her kunai, drawing it as she turned to defend herself, but how could she defend herself against…

Gaara?

The last time she'd seen Gaara, he'd been with his team, dropping off her friends who'd been battered and broken at the hands of Orochimaru's underlings. It had only been brief, then, but even without sensing the shinobi's chakra, Sakura had still been terrified of him. And why not? Before that, Gaara had gone all out trying to kill her and her teammates. She couldn't help but vividly remember how his chakra had transformed him into something half man, half monster. That was Shukaku inside him that she now sensed, Sakura realized, this baffling power was that of a Tailed Beast.

And this time, thank goodness, Gaara was not trying to kill her. This was his passive energy. This is what others in this village had felt from him for years. Knowing this now, Sakura couldn't help but understand why shinobi feared the Jinchuuriki so much. If this was when Gaara was calm, how terrible must his chakra feel when he was enraged, ready to kill?

She forced herself to take a deep breath, and she put her kunai away. "Son of a bitch." She grumbled. "You could afford to give a girl some warning before sneaking up on her while she's concentrating."

Gaara kept the same stoic look that was typical for him. His voice was the peak of apathetic as he spoke. "I was told you wished to speak with me."

"Next time, you could start with 'hello'." Sakura answered, pushing herself to her feet. Her heart was still pounding in her chest like a hammer, and a very large part of her wanted to keep the kunai out, just in case. Gaara seemed to get a curious look on his face at her comment, one that portrayed an emotion Sakura couldn't quite identify. (Maybe it was the lack of eyebrows.) Eventually, Gaara spoke again.

"Hello."

Sakura blinked. Was he...was he trying to be funny? With that deadpan look it was impossible to tell, but if he was at least attempting some sort of humor, well, she could work with that. She needed to humanize Gaara in her mind if she was ever going to understand Jinchuuriki, ever fully understand Naruto.

"Hello." She answered in return. "I don't know if you remember me from that time you tried to kill me, but I'm Naruto's teammate, Sakura, and I'm here to learn about Tailed Beasts."

"Alright. What do you want to know?"

It was that easy? Sakura wondered if he'd gotten permission from his superiors to discuss Shukaku, or if Gaara was just that willing to talk. Either way, she'd been expecting some sort of disclaimer, or a limitation on what she'd be allowed to know. And maybe there still was.

"Well, we could find a place to sit down, first." Sakura suggested. "Maybe we could get dinner." She had picked a somewhat secluded area to practice her chakra sensing, in the hope that she wouldn't be bothered. (Nice pick, she thought to herself, what with Gaara so easily sneaking up on her). Gaara seemed to think on this before turning and beginning to walk away.

"Dinner, then."

Sakura, of course, had no choice but to follow.

* * *

It was admittedly odd to see Gaara so at ease, or at least as ease as she ever expected to see him. Supposedly shinobi like Kakashi had similarly fearsome reputations, but she had never thought twice about such things when she considered the at ease, constantly tardy, playful personality that Kakashi had always showed to them. Gaara too had a relaxed side. Gaara too had a place he preferred to eat, or else he'd had enough sensitivity in him to pick a place he'd thought _she'd_ like. (Though Sakura was more likely to believe the former.) Did Gaara have hobbies? Books he liked to read, things he liked to do? She couldn't see him being a prankster like Naruto, not in a million years, but surely there were some things? All at once, Sakura found herself wanting to know more about Gaara than Shukaku.

But Sakura kept her thoughts to herself, enjoying the unique curry that had been brought to her. Suna food was certainly a different experience, but one she was quickly learning to enjoy. Still, she went through three glasses of water before her meal was done, while Gaara hadn't even once seemed to show any sign of discomfort.

"So...Shukaku." Sakura began, not sure where else would be a good start. "Did Temari bring you up to speed about Akatsuki?"

"She informed me that an organization might seek to take Shukaku's power from me." Gaara replied. Alright. Up to speed enough, Sakura supposed.

"Well, they've already attempted to abduct Naruto in the past, and they almost got away with it too. If they're strong enough to infiltrate a village and take out three jounin, I don't even want to think about what they'll be like with a Beast inside them. You're scary enough." Sakura hesitated. "Er, well...I don't mean to be rude, but you're pretty scary."

Gaara simply nodded at this, but said nothing else. The awkward silences were quickly becoming the scariest part of the conversation.

"So, well, I don't want Naruto to get abducted. I'm looking into Akatsuki to try and better prepare us for future attacks, but I feel like in order to understand Akatsuki, I need to learn more about the Tailed Beasts. Since you're the only other Jinchuuriki I directly know, I figured I'd come here first. I don't know how much you can tell me, but…" Sakura pulled out a small scroll from her pack. Notes, she'd need to take down notes in case there was anything important. "Well, how about I ask and you can tell me what you're able to?" Silence greeted her again, but since he was protesting, Sakura took it as an affirmation. "Maybe, well...have you ever communicated with Shukaku?"

This seemed to elicit a response out of Gaara. For a brief moment, did he look nervous? Nervous, maybe even uneasy. "Never on purpose." He finally admitted. "But communication is possible."

"It is?" Sakura couldn't help but feel excited at the news. Did that mean Naruto could communicate with the Kyuubi inside of him? Or maybe he'd already done it and she hadn't known? "How does it work? Some sort of telepathy?"

"Yes. His voice enters my thoughts when he wills it. Though not as much recently." Gaara's nervousness was still apparent. A touchy subject? "I don't know why you would want to communicate with them."

"Well, my hope was that it could help Naruto out. If he can control the Kyuubi, maybe it will make it harder for Akatsuki to make off with him." Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. I guess the problem is I don't really know a lot about how Jinchuurikis work. Nobody really seems to. I went through all my village had on them and the best I got was that they were pretty good weapons, but that's not how I want to see Naruto. That's...not how anyone should be seeing _any_ of the Jinchuuriki."

"Like it or not, that is why we exist. We exist to be weapons. We exist to kill for our village." Gaara retorted. "And we exist as a prison. Should Shukaku be allowed to rampage, he would not stop until he had ensured humanity's destruction. Shukaku does not care for anything but death."

"Yeah, I kinda got that." Sakura winced, memories of Gaara's transformation still vivid in her mind. "But haven't you ever been curious as to why?"

This thought was enough to keep Gaara silent for a while. Sakura as well. She allowed herself to mull over her words. The Kyuubi had attacked their village upon its freedom, yes, and someone had clearly freed it for that purpose, but was the Kyuubi really an unfeeling force of destruction? If Shukaku had enough sapience to hold some sort of conversation with Gaara, to hold desires, even destructive ones, then it was intelligent enough to have reasons why.

"I'd never had reason to ask." Gaara finally admitted. "Some things are just assumed."

"Then how would you feel about trying to ask? I think it could be helpful either way, and if you're successful than certainly Naruto would be able to-"

"No." Gaara spoke. "I will not speak with him. It is too risky. Allowing him words gives him opportunity to work his influence over me, and I will not allow that again."

It was the most assertive she'd ever seen him. On this, Gaara did not seem as though he could be swayed. Ah, well, it had been worth a try. Just the knowledge that it was possible was enough. "Okay." Sakura took down her notes. "Okay, no talking with Shukaku. Now, I know I probably won't get any answers for these next questions, but it's worth a try. Is there anything that's effective in controlling Shukaku? Certain types of jutsu, certain states of mind, anything I can pass along to Naruto so he has a better chance with the Kyuubi?"

It took even longer for Gaara to answer this time, but when he did, Sakura could have sworn she heard some sort of emotion in his voice. "Acceptance." Gaara explained. "Acceptance and...companionship. As long as you are there for him, Naruto will not falter to the Kyuubi's influence."

Acceptance...something, Sakura wondered, if Gaara had ever experienced. Even just walking here with him to dinner, she had seen the cold looks and frightened eyes that had turned Gaara's way. Something Naruto had supposedly dealt with in his youth. Naruto had friends now, companions to help shoulder the burden, and Gaara? Gaara didn't seem to have anyone.

Had that been melancholy in his voice, then?

"You know, I don't blame you for trying to kill me." Sakura found herself speaking without thinking. "I mean, it was terrifying facing you, but it was just what you'd been ordered to do. And you helped out when Sasuke left, so...so I can't hold anything against you, just for that. Sasuke is my friend and I-" Well, maybe talking about her love for Sasuke was a bit heavy handed. "I'm just grateful that so many came for him where I failed. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't care what happened in the past. You tried to help Naruto and Sasuke, so you're my friend now, got it?"

Gaara didn't have anything to say to that. But Sakura could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile on the shinobi's face.


	7. Chapter 7

"What are you doing?"

Sakura found herself caught off guard once again by Gaara's sudden appearance, though this time at least she had the presence of mind _not_ to draw her kunai on an ally. She needed to learn that skill, she decided, that 'sneaking up on people' skill that Gaara seemed to just naturally fall into. It clearly wasn't a Jinchuuriki thing. (Naruto had the subtlety of a raging bull). This meant it could be cultivated. She would learn this skill…once she was done with the twelve others on her list.

"I'm training." She finally answered. She was in the middle of an early morning session, following Rock Lee's tried and true 'kick, punch, and run until you couldn't anymore'. She still couldn't make it to a hundred kicks in a row without giving up, but that just meant she'd throw a hundred punches and run a hundred kilometers and so on until she was strong enough.

"You're training on an air conditioner." Gaara commented. Ah, so that was what this tall machine was.

"Well, there aren't any trees and I doubt any shinobi here would want to spar with me." Sakura let out a deep breath as she went for kick number sixty-two. "I'm sure I'll get a lecture about not training with a potential enemy, and I doubt anyone will let me use their training grounds, so I found my own. There's not much else I can do with my time until that damn storm outside lets up." She paused, breathing again before looking around. "I will say, this natural cliff around the village really does a good job keeping all that sand out. It's really only bad higher up."

Gaara was quiet at this. It had probably been an obvious thing to point out; of _course_ a Sand village would pick somewhere naturally protected from the harshness of the desert around them. It was just amazing how well of a job it did. Sakura wouldn't have been surprised if there were jutsu in place on top of the cliffs to help mitigate the damages sandstorms would bring.

Gaara's silence prompted Sakura to continue her training. He'd probably been sent up to make sure she wasn't doing anything suspicious. (And kicking an air conditioner was admittedly suspicious, yes.) But unless the owner came and yelled at her for it, she doubted it was illegal.

"Was that all the questioning you had about Shukaku?"

Kick eighty-one and Gaara still hadn't left. Maybe he'd been sent to keep a permanent eye on her? "No, I don't have anything else on Shukaku, unless you're willing to reconsider attempting a conversation with it. But you seemed pretty against the idea so…" Sakura stopped her kicking. Eighty-six and her leg just didn't want to lift anymore. Now for the other side.

"So you're training." Gaara concluded.

"Yup."

"By kicking an air conditioner."

"Every kick makes me stronger. Just ask Rock Lee, he kicked the hell out of you in the chunin exams." Three kicks with the left leg, then four, five, six…

It was quiet for longer this time, and Sakura was beginning to get a bit embarrassed by the attention. It wasn't like she didn't understand why Suna was keeping an eye on her, but did Gaara even blink? He was like a statue watching her train, but in a weird way it was almost helpful. She didn't want to appear weak in front of him, which ensured she kicked harder and faster than she was used to.

Damn, she'd be sore tomorrow, but Lee would probably approve.

She heard a small thump from behind her, and she stopped her kicks just long enough to see that Gaara had deposited his gourd onto the ground. Then, to her shock, Gaara came to a position next to her in front of the air conditioner.

"Every kick makes you stronger?"

"Um...yeah." Sakura blinked as she watched Gaara slowly begin to start kicking at the machine. Every time the kick landed, she saw a couple grains of sand fall to the ground before slowly returning to Gaara's body. That sand armor...he always kept it on, right? But more importantly was Gaara...training?

He was slow. A _lot_ slower than her, she realized, and it made sense. With sand doing everything for him, when would he ever have need for taijutsu? When would he ever have need for speed at all? Plus, that sand armor was probably a fairly large weight hindrance, even if by now he was mostly used to it.

It was weird. By now she figured Gaara would have been sent on another mission, or maybe training with his own team. Certainly not with her. Certainly not at all.

But the company wasn't unwanted.

"Do a hundred kicks with one leg." She instructed, continuing her own set. "If you can't do a hundred kicks, do a hundred with the other leg. If you can't do the other leg, switch to punches. And if you can't make the punches, do a hundred laps around the village."

Gaara paused to look at her, bafflement clear on his face. "...everyone in Konoha trains like this?"

"Only the crazy ones." Sakura admitted. "I just started this recently. I can't make it to a hundred yet on anything, but when I started I could only get to about fifty before I got tired. Today my first set got to eighty-six."

Gaara nodded and went back to work. Ever the quiet one.

Seventy-nine more kicks and two more sets of punches later, Sakura began to jog. Gaara followed her, easily keeping up. As they went, Sakura couldn't help but notice how time and time again faces would turn in their direction, in _Gaara's_ direction, unease and fear emanating from even the children who probably didn't even understand what Gaara _was_. This was what it was to be a Jinchuuriki, and even by proxy, Sakura was starting to understand how disheartening such negative attention could be.

Several more days passed as she waited for the sandstorm to subside. Her pocketbook thankfully didn't run low, not with Gaara tailing her like a lost puppy. As the Kage's son, food seemed to be free wherever he deemed it, and with her in his proximity, she was able to mooch off quite a few meals. For the most part, Gaara said little. He trained with her and sat watch over her while she practiced her sensing. After a while of him being near, she could almost tune out the fear that Shukaku's aura of death brought about.

"Does he ever say anything to you?" Temari asked her once, in a whisper low enough that she figured Gaara couldn't hear.

"Not really." Sakura shrugged. "He talked to me about Shukaku when I asked but other than that he just follows me around."

"He's stopped going on missions." Temari let slip. "He doesn't even bother checking in anymore, but after…" She hesitated, taking a breath. "Well, we haven't elected a Kage yet, so there's nobody with enough motivation to look after him. As long as he isn't killing anyone."

"He's not." Sakura insisted. "He just sits around and watches me all day. I'd thought he'd been ordered to."

"Well, I feel better if you're keeping an eye on him. At least if he decides to kill you, it's not one of us." Temari chuckled, and Sakura forced a laugh in return. She had been worried at first but...not so much now. If Gaara had wanted to kill her, he'd have had plenty of opportunity. She was more unnerved by how casually Temari treated Gaara's bloodlust, like it was inevitable. Like there was nothing that could be done. She was his sister...if she'd reached out to Gaara, shown him affection, how different would things have been?

It was on the evening of her fourth day in Sunagakure that Gaara spoke to her at length once again, surprising her by initiating. She'd found a quiet spot in the village to start reading her scroll for something new, and he'd followed, as usual, before speaking up.

"Where's Naruto at, now?"

"Naruto?" Sakura pulled herself from her reading. "Well, he's out training with a strong shinobi from our village, but he's being kept on the move to avoid Akatsuki finding him. Otherwise he'd probably be here with me."

"Training." Gaara confirmed. "He wants to be Hokage, doesn't he?"

"That's his plan." Not that he ever stopped announcing it to anyone.

"I'd thought about trying to become Kazekage."

There was a long silence after the announcement. Sakura couldn't help but watch Gaara. He was getting easier to read now, she realized. He didn't show much emotion, but it was there, if you knew where to look. Right now he was pensive, but some of the melancholy from their first conversation was peppered in.

"Why don't you then?" Sakura asked. "They need a Kage right now, and you're certainly strong enough. Plus, Kage get tons of bodyguards, that'd be perfect if Akatsuki ever tried to come after you."

"They won't ever let me become a Kage. I'm too unstable." Gaara explained. "Even if I trained, even if I restrained myself for the rest of my life, they won't ever trust me. I'm not like Naruto."

"Not with that attitude, you aren't." Sakura huffed. "Naruto's never been trusted either, but he'll never stop trying. That's how come he _will_ become Hokage. And that's how come he'll get strong enough to beat Akatsuki and bring Sasuke back."

"Naruto will. But...you don't want to become Hokage?"

"Of course not, I know I can't beat Naruto."

"But you could." Gaara argued. It was the most verbose he'd ever been, and discounting the chunin exams, the most emotional she'd ever seen him. "You could train every day like he does and get stronger. Your village already trusts you. You could get strong enough to become Hokage. Strong enough to beat Akatsuki and bring Sasuke back."

He was right, of course. She could train every day and become Hokage. If she'd tried, she could have become an active jounin, learned the ins and out of village politics, gained the respect of everyone there. In another life, if something had been different, maybe she _would_ have. But now, right now…

"It's not what I want." She admitted, more to herself than to Gaara. "I don't want to be Hokage. The Hokage just sits around worrying about a village when the world is in danger, when people they care about are in danger. They're stuck. They can't go out and make a difference without fear of the other villages retaliating, without fear of leaving their own village undefended. If I was Hokage, I couldn't be out here trying to help Naruto."

Sakura looked back down at her scroll as she spoke, rows upon rows of descriptions and hand signs in front of her. "It's stupid." She lamented. "Naruto and Sasuke, they're so damn strong and important compared to me. They have strong shinobi just jumping at the chance to train them and help them reach their dreams. But nobody ever reached out to me. Nobody ever thought I could be Hokage or anyone important, so now I have to be out here in the damned Sand village just so I can prove that I'm capable, that I _can_ help if they'd just let me. But what's even more stupid is that they're right. I don't have any special jutsu or talents. I don't have a Tailed Beast, I don't have a Sharingan. I'm just Sakura. So it doesn't even matter if I wanted to be a stupid Hokage anyway. I'll never be more than just a backup for someone stronger." She rolled the scroll back up with an angry snap. No, she _wouldn't_ let herself get this emotional in front of Gaara. She'd pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind for the entire trip, _now_ wasn't the time to get soft. "Yet here I am anyway, trying like an idiot to catch up to them. Using a stupid dumb scroll that hasn't taught me anything useful yet, because nobody else wants to waste time teaching me." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yup. The biggest idiot of Team Seven was actually me the whole time."

More silence, and this time Sakura let herself wallow in it. Maybe she'd needed a break from the scroll anyway, and this was a good enough excuse. She didn't even notice Gaara standing up, not until he was next to her and speaking again.

"Every kick makes you stronger."

Sakura opened her eyes, frowning. How dare he use her own words against her? That just wasn't fair. Nobody could argue against their own logic.

"Yeah." She simply agreed. "So go be Kazekage if you want to be. If you go kick that air conditioner enough, they'll have to let you."

Gaara nodded, and said no more that night. He did, however, sit down next to her as she read, and Sakura realized for the first time that week that she truly was no longer afraid of him.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, when the sand had subsided and the hot desert sun shone with clarity across the village, a solitary eagle made its way into one of Suna's towers with a message taped to its leg.

This, of course, meant nothing to Sakura, who was much more focused on the fact that the storm had finished, and now she had to deal with the hellish landscape that was Suna in the middle of summer. It was _hot_, it was blistering hot, and now that the skies were clear, that meant it was time for her to _leave_ and she'd have to leave in the middle of this _heat_. She had no idea how it was possible for so many shinobi to thrive in this heat, especially considering what they wore. (Gaara's brother, Kankuro, wore long sleeves and all _black_, was the boy a lunatic?)

With frizzled hair and sweat dripping in places she didn't want to think about, Sakura began her final morning of training on the air conditioner that she had become so familiar with in the past week. She'd known she couldn't stay in Suna forever, but now that it was time to leave, she found herself strangely hesitant. It was _nice_, being in a safe location, not having to be at the beck and call of Tsunade, not having to run stupid missions to make a living. She felt _free_. She could study what she wanted, train how she wanted, and nobody could tell her otherwise. Was this how Naruto and Sasuke felt right now? They wouldn't have any responsibilities either, other than getting stronger. (At least, she liked to think Orochimaru wouldn't be sending his 'prized Uchiha' on menial missions...though the thought of him having that conversation with Sasuke was enough to make her giggle.)

Maybe she wasn't gaining strength at the rate of her teammates. She certainly didn't have a Sannin teaching her. But even after just a week of Suna training, she was kicking better, running longer...even her sensing jutsu had expanded a bit in range, useless otherwise as it was. Once she was out on the road again, she'd have to waste time surviving, catching her own meals, figuring out where to go next, and she was _not_ looking forward to those problems.

So right now, it was _hot_, but she could deal with that, would _rather_ deal with that than the problems that were awaiting her.

It was about a hundred and fifty kicks into her reps that Sakura realized that Gaara was late. It shouldn't have been concerning. Gaara was a Suna shinobi and probably had his own menial tasks and missions to attend to. He couldn't be at her side _all_ the time. But a part of her had gotten used to the silent shinobi's company, and now that he wasn't around, she found herself uneasy. If someone found her kicking an air conditioner, she didn't have the previous Kazekage's son to back her up.

It was even more unnerving once she'd transitioned to her village laps. Where once the locals had looked upon her and Gaara with hatred and scrutiny, now they just...glanced her way and then went back to her business. Did they really fear Gaara more than they did a foreign shinobi?

Well, they'd have been _right_ in that fear, but the principle of the matter still bothered her.

It was on her third lap that her routine was brought to an abrupt halt by the sudden arrival of five Suna shinobi. Gaara was among them, but standing foremost at their head was none other than Temari. For a brief moment, Sakura let her hand fall to the hilt of one of her kunai. The way they had appeared screamed hostility, but there was no way they'd attack a Konoha shinobi in view of the entire village, right? Not without risking it getting out, not without their treaty with Konoha being broken…

"We just got a message that you might be interested in." Temari finally spoke, gently tossing her a small scroll. Sakura caught it, curiously peeking at the contents within.

It was a message from Konoha. A message about her.

Shit, fuck, damn, and piss.

_The shinobi known as Sakura Haruno is believed to have defected from our village and joined with the rogue shinobi Orochimaru. Any potential information to her whereabouts will be rewarded, as well as any information regarding our other missing shinobi, Sasuke Uchiha. Your cooperation on this matter is appreciated. _

"Imagine my surprise when I read this." Temari commented as Sakura finished. "Last I heard, Orochimaru hasn't been in this village since before our little war at the chunin exams. Want to tell me why you're out here spying for him?"

_Spying? _That was what they thought? Sakura spoke without thinking, her voice raised into an angry yell. "I'd never do a single damn bit of work for that creep in my life, do you hear me? Orochimaru can rot in hell!"

Temari blinked at her outburst, looking shocked. Well, she had yelled a bit loudly, but it _was_ true. Sakura moved her hand away from her kunai, then held both of her hands up in a gesture of submission. The last thing she wanted was to get killed because of a misconception.

"I haven't defected. I mean, I didn't want to defect." Sakura began to explain. "But Sasuke is currently in Orochimaru's hands, and Naruto is being hunted by the Akatsuki. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing while they're both in danger, but that was exactly what Tsunade wanted me to do. She just assigned me to a different team and kept sending me on mission after stupid, dumb mission." She took a breath, glancing over at Gaara as she spoke. Would he believe her, at least? After their conversation from before, he _had_ to believe her. "I left the village so I could try to learn what I could to help my teammates. I wasn't lying when I told you that. I just...never got permission to leave the village in the first place. And since I didn't want them to come after me, I told them I'd left to join Sasuke and Orochimaru. I figured they wouldn't have expected me to come here, and it looks like they didn't."

"Idiot Leaf brat." Temari rolled her eyes. "You have Gaara to thank for the reason you're still standing. If not for him, this lot would have wanted you dead without a second thought."

Sakura lowered her head. Damn it all, she hadn't thought about how the Sand might react to the knowledge that someone 'working for Orochimaru' had been gathering information in their village. Then again, she hadn't expected Tsunade to contact the Sand about _her_ in the first place. She wasn't a strong shinobi, she wasn't a member of a prominent clan, so why had the Leaf been worried about her to begin with?

Unless…

_Any potential information on her whereabouts will be rewarded…_

It wasn't _her_ they cared about, it was _where_ she was. If she had defected and gone to Sasuke, that meant she knew where Sasuke was. Leaf didn't care about her at all, they just care about what knew!

But despite this revelation, there was another she had to consider. Someone _had_ cared enough about her to want her alive, and that someone was Gaara of all people. Her life, it seemed, was currently in his hands.

"I swear, I'm not working for Orochimaru." She reiterated. "I'm only working for myself and my teammates. If you're planning on taking me in, I won't resist. I'm not here to hurt anyone."

Temari's eyes narrowed as she listened to her. Examined her. Probably trying to figure out if she was lying or not. Regardless, it seemed as though Sakura wasn't going to die today, as the shinobi around her appeared to relax slightly at her proclamation.

"This changes things." Temari admitted. "I'm placing you in Gaara's custody until we can decide what to do with you. If you're being honest with us, you'll stay put and won't try anything stupid, alright?"

Sakura simply nodded in agreement. What choice did she have? She couldn't run away now, not with Gaara being the one to look after her. All of her earlier fears melted away as one new fear was brought to the forefront of her mind. If she wasn't killed or imprisoned here in Suna for being a rogue, she was definitely going to get dragged back to Konoha. Her streak of rebellion was nearing its end, and all she'd managed to get out of it was a short trip to Suna and a week of uninterrupted training.

She let herself sigh as Gaara made his way to her side. For all her effort, this was as far as she'd gotten? No wonder her village didn't see her on the same level as her teammates.

"It's hot." She spoke to Gaara. "Can we at least wait at the inn so I'm not burning to death out here?"

Gaara nodded, and the (likely final) trek back to her temporary home began.

* * *

"Are you afraid?"

It had been an hour since they'd arrived back at the inn, and the first time Gaara had spoken to her all day. Sakura was initially dismissive of the question.

"I mean, I guess I'm afraid of what Tsunade's going to do to me if you send me back, but I doubt she'll kill me. I'm not important enough to get that harsh of a sentence. She'll probably yell at me and put me on D mission duty for a year."

Gaara shook his head. "No. Not that." He explained. "I meant Orochimaru. And Akatsuki. Aren't you afraid to be facing them alone?"

"Oh." That was a question she hadn't really considered. "Well, of course I am. I'm not nearly strong enough to face them."

"But you still left your village. Alone."

"Yeah." Sakura agreed. "I told you I was an idiot. I'd hoped I'd be too insignificant to even matter to them. They're not looking for _me_, they want my teammates. I was surprised that my own village even though I was worth making any sort of fuss over."

Silence for a while longer. Sakura fiddled with one of her kunai as she waited. The anticipation was the worst part, wondering what the Sand were going to do with her. But then, Gaara surprised her by speaking again.

"Were you afraid back then, when I came for Sasuke?"

Back then…

It seemed so distant now, after everything, but even so Sakura could remember the maniacal look on Gaara's face as he barreled towards her, half transformed into hideous beast. "Yes." She admitted. "Of course I was. But I couldn't just do nothing. I couldn't let someone I cared about get hurt by you. Those who abandon their comrades...they're worse than scum." She couldn't help but smile a bit as Kakashi's words rung in her mind. She looked back to Gaara. "But why does it matter to you if I was afraid?"

"It doesn't." Gaara admitted. "What matters is that you moved anyway."

Sakura froze as his words reached her.

What mattered was that she moved anyway.

Of course. _Of course_.

She stood up, pocketing her kunai and making her way to her backpack. Most of her supplies were still packed, just a few odds and ends things that she had to shove in and she'd be ready to go. She pulled the backpack over her shoulder before turning to face Gaara again.

"Are you going to stop me?" She asked.

"No." Gaara replied.

"You're going to get hell for letting me go. Everyone knows I'm not strong enough to stop you if you were trying."

"I won't." Gaara answered. "Because I'm going to be doing something worse than letting you go."

"Oh?" Sakura frowned in confusion. "And what could you possibly do short of killing someone that's worse than letting a rogue ninja escape your custody?"

"I'm going to come with you."


	9. A Brief Intermission

Kakashi was starting to think that he was a terrible person.

Well, no. That was a lie. This wasn't the start of such thoughts, but this was definitely some sort of confirmation from the universe. It definitely wasn't enough that he had failed Sasuke and allowed him to fall into the hands of a particularly nasty shinobi. It definitely wasn't enough that he had (_let them die_) failed Obito and Rin. It definitely wasn't enough that…

Well. He could go on. He had gone on, in the past. He'd let himself wallow in the misery of his failures, let the past distract him from the present he _should_ have been in. If he hadn't wasted so much time, if he hadn't been so distracted, could he have kept Sasuke safe?

And now, more importantly, could he have convinced Sakura to stay?

He'd been so _stupid_ and Sakura had taken advantage of it in a way that he hadn't thought her capable of. Lying to his face, using him to ensure that the only people who would have known something was up weren't anywhere near her, and then…

_I can't live without him. I'm going to join Sasuke and Orochimaru. _

And then he read that letter and every single barrier he'd put up against his emotions had come crumbling down, every single failure crushing down on whatever strength he'd had left, and suddenly there was only one thing he could do, only one thing he _had_ to do, and that was _stop her before he failed her too._

Tsunade had tried to stop him. Claim that there was no way Sakura could have gotten far, she certainly wasn't the _Uchiha_, a good team of chunin could probably track her down in a day, and the part that _really_ stung was that Tsunade was probably right. Sakura had always been behind her teammates in terms of skill and strength, but this wasn't just a problem for the village anymore. This was a problem for _him_. He'd thought he could count on Sakura to keep her composure, to stay safe in the village and learn at her own pace, but he couldn't even get _that_ right. He had to be the one to retrieve her, no matter how much Tsunade yelled at him to stay. If not him, if not someone who _understood_…

Not to discount, of course, that he _was_ fairly good at tracking. The dogs of his clan could pick up on any scent, so he could catch up on Sakura in no time as long as he moved quickly. Then, once he found her, he could work on picking up the pieces of himself, the pieces of this _team_ that had fallen apart like brittle glass.

His run came to a stop in the direction of the Land of Rice Fields, where he knew the Sound Village had been established. Orochimaru was there, and that was the direction that Sasuke had fled. Sakura would have gone here. He held in his hand the headband that Sakura had left behind, no doubt bathed in her scent. It would have to do.

Some blood and a few hand signs later, a half a dozen shinobi mutts stood in front of him. He held out the headband for each to sniff.

"Find her. As quick as possible."

The dogs dispersed, and the waiting, the _impossible_ waiting began. Kakashi worked to push down his anxieties, though he couldn't even dwell on the fact that it had been _two days_ before anyone had noticed Sakura was missing. Not even her parents, who had assumed her absence had been due to her shinobi schedule, not even her new team who had assumed her ill. In two days she could have covered a considerable distance.

But he was faster. He could catch up. He had to catch up.

It was a long half an hour before all six of his dogs returned to him. But the few seconds of realization seemed to last even longer.

"None of you found anything?"

"Not a thing." Pakkun replied, looking about as grave as Kakashi felt. "Whichever direction she went, it wasn't this way. Either that or she found a way to completely cover her scent."

Unlikely, Kakashi figured. There was no way Sakura could have gotten _that good_ so quickly, he could count the number of shinobi that good on one hand. But if she hadn't gone in the direction of the Sound Village, then…

Which direction had she gone?

Kakashi couldn't help but let a small smile come to his face. One of the first lessons he'd taught her was to 'look underneath the underneath'. Sakura had been devious enough to lie to him, to get information out of him, then maybe, just maybe…

"You little minx." He said aloud. He gestured to his hounds, and began the trek back in the direction of the village. He'd have to start from her house, he supposed, and hope her trail was good enough to pick up the real direction she had gone.

The only question was: where would Sakura Haruno have gone if not to Sasuke? She had no way of knowing where Jiraiya had taken Naruto; that had been the point. But there was nowhere else immediately obvious that came to mind. Sakura had put together some sort of plan and had gone in the exact opposite place that anyone had expected her to. She had used a letter to convince others that she had gone to Sasuke, maybe in the hopes that they would get distracted long enough to get her a head start. (Maybe in the hopes they wouldn't have looked for her at all.)

Alright. Maybe he hadn't completely failed her yet. But come hell or high water, that girl was getting a _lecture_ once he found her.


	10. Chapter 10

"And I'm saying _absolutely not!_"

Which was hopeless to say, of course, because Sakura had already said it a dozen times now, and here she was, stomping around in Gaara's home while the Jinchuuriki methodically packed his things. She wondered if stubbornness was a trait of _all_ Jinchuuriki or if she'd just gotten unlucky with him and Naruto.

"Did you completely miss my whole explanation of how _nine S-ranked shinobi currently are looking to kidnap you?"_

"I did not." Gaara replied. Sakura glanced over just in time to see him start to grab toothbrushes. (Somehow she'd just...never pictured him doing the mundane parts of living. It was odd enough seeing he had a _house_.)

"Well, how about the fact that I am _not_ an S-ranked shinobi and I am probably incapable of distracting _one_ of Akatsuki for more than a minute?"

Gaara didn't respond. Whether to be polite or if he just didn't care, Sakura wasn't sure. Perhaps a bit of both. She wasn't sure which option infuriated her more, so she let herself continue to rant.

"How about the fact that the instant you leave here with me, all of Suna is going to put a huge fucking target on _both_ our heads, on top of the target that Konoha _already put on me_." It felt strangely good to curse. She'd always held back, wanting to be seen as the mature one, but there wasn't a reason to be mature now. This was Gaara's _life_ he was throwing away. "What if Suna never takes you back? What if you never have a home again because you leave with me?"

Gaara paused and looked back at her, his expression the most angry she'd seen him in a while. "What gave you the impression I considered this a home to begin with?"

Sakura grimaced, biting her lip as she forced herself to pace away from Gaara's glaring eyes. Right. Of course. It wasn't like Gaara had any attachment to his home, not like Naruto did. No, she really couldn't fault him for wanting to leave, and if situations had been different...if it had just been Orochimaru that was the problem and not _Akatsuki_…

"I can't protect you." She finally admitted, her voice softening. "If you come with me, as far as I'm concerned, I've condemned you to death, Gaara."

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see a Gaara fully packed, even more determined than before. "I'd rather die with a friend than here."

Here...but that had been the point, hadn't it? If he stayed here, the village could keep him _safe_.

But then Sakura remembered how just _one_ of the Akatsuki had taken on four jounin of her village and survived, had put Kakashi and Sasuke into a coma that none but Tsunade could have brought them out of, how Itachi Uchiha had gone toe to toe with _Jiraiya_ and scared him enough that he had whisked Naruto away for his own protection.

And that was just one of them.

If all nine Akatsuki decided to take Gaara from this village, could anyone stop them? For that matter, following that thought, why hadn't they yet? Had they captured all of the other Jinchuuriki?

_Were Gaara and Naruto the only ones left?_

And suddenly Sakura _got_ why Jiraiya had taken Naruto and ran. It wasn't that Jiraiya thought he could stand up against Akatsuki if they came for Naruto, it was that traveling around without a goal made Naruto _harder to find_, and the longer he could distract Akatsuki, the more time he had to come up with a plan to deal with them.

Which meant that logically, Gaara leaving with her was somehow, stupidly, the safest thing he could probably do. Yes, Suna would try to retrieve him, but Suna wouldn't be stupid enough to announce to the entire world that one of their strongest shinobi had gone missing. After their war with Konoha, it would all but ensure their demise if any other country thought them weaker than they were now.

Which meant that, whether they wanted to or not, Suna would cover them. Akatsuki wouldn't be looking for her, they'd be looking where they _expected_ Gaara to be.

This was such a stupid idea it was actually _smart_.

"You need to disguise yourself." Sakura finally spoke, moving to some of Gaara's cabinets to look for something, anything. "That tattoo is kind of unique, we could cover it with some makeup. Dye your hair, if you'll let me. And that gourd, can you make it a different shape?" She vaguely remembered his entire gourd being made of his sand, from his fight with Lee. Gaara nodded, and she watched as the gourd began to stretch and elongate until it very distinctly looked the part of a rather large scroll. Scrolls were common enough in the shinobi world, and that still meant his sand was close to him, where he liked it. "Good, that's a good start."

"Your hair, too?" Gaara pointed to her. Sakura frowned as she considered her rare color. She _liked_ the pink. Maybe it wasn't a very shinobi-like color, but it was _her _color.

"It's not like Akatsuki's looking for me." She countered with a pout.

"Then no dyeing."

Sakura looked over just in time to see...wait, was _Gaara_ sulking too? He looked like he was trying to mimic her expression, but, well, _failing_ horribly. It was like the poor boy hadn't exercised his facial muscles in years. She couldn't help but giggle.

"Fine, fine, so we find something to cover our heads with. I'm sure a headscarf or two would do us fine, and we still need to cover that tattoo whether you want to or not."

One hour of sifting through Gaara's clothes later, Sakura finally considered the two of them 'disguised'. It was awkward wearing a boy's clothes, but they were about the same height and Sakura would have been stupid not to take advantage of the opportunity. Once they were out of the desert, she could change back. Their heads were covered, defining traits concealed, and Sakura doubted even experienced jonin would notice them unless they were given enough time to determine something was off...and if they were successful, nobody was going to get that chance.

Looking at her map, as well as using what little knowledge of existing Jinchuuriki she had, Sakura began to put together a plan. "We need to take the route that will let us get away from Suna quickly, but also avoid Konoha. Which is difficult, Konoha is right smack in the middle of everyone, so we're going to need to keep to the edges of the map. And that actually works out perfectly for us." Sakura grinned as she began to draw a line on the paper. "First we go to Iwagakure. My readings claim that the First Hokage gave at least one of the Tailed Beasts to the first Tsuchikage as a sign of goodwill. Iwa's always been a bit warmongering in the past, so we'll have to tread carefully, but since we're both technically missing-nin…"

"They won't have cause to think our villages are moving against them." Gaara nodded. "We find the Jinchuuriki, and then?"

"Warn them of Akatsuki." If they hadn't been captured yet. "Get whatever information from them we can. Then we move on." Several more lines were drawn on the map. "From there, Takigakure. It's not confirmed but it is rumored there's a Jinchuuriki there. Worth looking into. And-"

"You put Otogakure on the path." Gaara pointed out. "After Waterfall."

"Y-yeah." Sakura nodded, sheepish. "Well, I also want to try and learn about Orochimaru if I can. That place is going to be the most dangerous out of all of them. Orochimaru knows I'm Sasuke's teammate, and he'll have probably heard you've left with me by then. But I'm hoping we can use my lie to Konoha to our advantage and have him think I've turned traitor."

"You want to find Sasuke."

"Of course I do. And if he's so stubborn about not wanting to go back to the village, well, that's fine. He can just come with us to Kumogakure." Sakura pointed to the next location on her route. "Confirmed two Jinchuuriki there, and then finally to Kirigakure to investigate the rumors there."

"And when we're done?"

Sakura looked to Gaara, taking a deep breath. "_If_ we make it that far, I think I'll quit being a shinobi and turn to religion, because _someone_ divine is going to have to have our backs if we're that lucky."

One step at a time, anyway. They still had to escape Suna and _get_ to these places, and Sakura still wasn't quite sure that first step was going to go well. Gaara seemed confident, however, and he did know the village better than her.

They made their way to the roof, checking the immediate area for any signs of shinobi. In the distance, the north wall of the village stood strong, a massive cliff-face that was higher than Sakura had probably climbed in her life. And yet, that was their goal. North to Iwa.

"As long as we keep a natural pace, we shouldn't draw suspicion." Gaara spoke so softly, Sakura wasn't sure how she could even hear him. Damn, _she_ needed to learn how to be that quiet. "My only concern is the standard patrol. If they see us, they might question us."

Sakura suddenly couldn't help but grin.

For the first time in a LONG time, Sakura was going to be useful.

A couple quick hand signs later, and Sakura reached out to sense nearby chakra. "There's three south of us, five east, two northeast, one west, and… two northwest." She peaked her eyes open just in time to see the look Gaara gave her: one part confusion and one part respect. "I haven't been studying that scroll for the hell of it, you know. It's a sensing scroll. As long as you can chart the best path, I can keep track of everyone." Her grin widened as she turned to face west. "I think we'll avoid most of the locals going that way. I'll need to stop every couple hundred feet or so to recheck the area." A slow pace, but a safe one. And every second they weren't found was one that got them closer to their destination.

Gaara took point, stepping to the roof's edge before looking back to Sakura. "When you're ready, then."

Sakura was definitely _not_ ready and not ever _going_ to be ready to escape a hidden village again. And unlike Konoha, Suna would likely kill her now if they caught her. This was life or death. Equivalent, she was sure, to some sort of A rank mission.

She took a deep breath, and the running began.

* * *

The trick to being a shinobi had to be a good poker face.

There was no reason why a couple of high ranking Suna jonin _couldn't _have stopped them on their escape and asked what they were up to, but Sakura was beginning to learn that exuding an aura of 'I am supposed to be here' was a better disguise than literally any jutsu could accomplish. At one point, when they had reached a junction where crossing the path of a shinobi was unavoidable, Sakura had taken another breath and had simply… walked.

It was a market district, she'd deduced. Strange folk pass by there all the time. There was no need to pay any attention to her or her partner. They were there to shop. No suspicious activity, definitely not trying to flee the village.

It was then Sakura realized exactly how Uchiha Itachi had infiltrated her village so easily. Before they'd known of Akatsuki's trademark robes, there'd been no _reason_ to look for any "suspiciously dressed" shinobi, because there wasn't any known clothing that could have reasonably been considered suspicious. Merchants came and went constantly, and the guards probably just considered Itachi another traveler. Hell, if Akatsuki was smart, they'd ditch the robes and be able to infiltrate every village with ease.

Oh shit, what if they already _had_?

Now, however, was not the time to panic over what ifs. They had reached the village walls, and now began the more risky part of their journey. Did they dare risk taking the normal path out of the village? Or was it safer to climb over, potentially being spotted on the way up _and_ having to risk climbing down again after?

Another breath. Calm, collected steps. Sakura was meant to be here. She was meant to be leaving the village.

In her mind, she tried her best to pull a persona over herself. It was surprisingly easy. She had grappled with her inner voice for years, taking on the demeanor of a sweet, innocent girl over the _real_ her that was brash and loud and obnoxious. The new persona was a merchant, heading in the direction of Iwagakure after coming to Suna for business.

"Good thing that sandstorm finally broke, huh?" Sakura spoke to the gate guards as she approached, trying her best to seem jovial. Silently, Gaara followed her. "If I'd been stuck here another day, I might have been late for a very important meeting!"

The two guards blinked as they considered her, and then one spoke up, professional and polite. "Be careful out there on the road, ma'am. Sometimes the storms wear away at the road. Wouldn't want anyone getting lost!"

"Thanks for the warning, friend!" Sakura gave the man a pleasant wave and kept walking.

And walking.

And walking.

If she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that she'd been holding her breath for the past mile. As their view of the village finally began to fade under the horizon, Sakura stopped, putting her hands on her knees.

"Gaara, holy shit."

Gaara was silent, of course. Sakura took the pause to breathe the anxiety out of her nerves. Merchant persona was gone, and now it was just quiet Sakura who hadn't been so afraid since _Sasuke left. _

"It was that easy." She found herself saying. "It was that easy to just walk out without any questions, no _wonder_ Orochimaru and Akatsuki haven't been caught yet. I'm a genin with barely any talents and I just walked out of a guarded village without being stopped _once."_

And to be fair, it was likely nobody had realized yet that Gaara had allowed her to escape (and run off _with _her). But now Sakura had become seriously worried about her own village's security. The wrong person could walk right through the gates and just… do whatever they wanted! Learn whatever they wanted!

Hell, this whole thing had started with her breaking into Konoha's most secure library!

"I'm starting to think that I have severely been overestimating most shinobi." Sakura concluded. "They're so worried about grand, obvious threats that they let the small, sneaky ones slip right through."

"Good thing we're a small, sneaky one then."

Sakura let out a hollow laugh. When she returned to Konoha, she was going to give Tsunade a _lecture. _

Assuming she lived long enough. Assuming Tsunade didn't knock her lights out next time she saw her.

* * *

From there, Sakura and Gaara ran. The initial escape was done, and now all that mattered was putting as much distance between them and Suna as possible. Sakura noted, as they ran, that Gaara was focusing and allowing his sand to whip at the ground behind them, removing all trace of their footprints. Suna wasn't stupid; they'd check each of the gates once they realized their prisoner and Jinchuuriki were gone, but ensuring they didn't have a noticeable trail would make things easier. (And Sakura could only hope the gate guards didn't think twice about the two 'merchants' that had passed them by.)

Eventually, Sakura allowed her run to leave the safety of the main road. It wasn't quite as scary having a native Suna shinobi at her back; if another sandstorm hit, she figured Gaara of all people would know how to handle it. The main road was winding and 'safe', but off-road would be the most direct path to Iwa. They'd save time, precious time, and once they crossed the border into the Land of Earth, Suna shinobi would be less likely to follow them.

They ran well into the day and deep into the night. Only the past week of jogging in a desert environment allowed Sakura to keep conscious at all under the desert heat, as well as the clothes she had donned. (Despite the fact that she was _more_ covered, the lightweight fabrics breathed well and shaded her skin from the sun's rays. So _that_ was how Kankuro could keep covered all the time.)

It was as the sun began to peek over the horizon again that the two finally stopped for rest. Gaara, in his element, moved the sand beneath them to create a large hole. Then, he pulled his own sand above them, making a solid ceiling and leaving a single hole for air. That, combined with a small oil lamp he'd brought along, made the perfect little hideaway. Sakura couldn't help but be impressed. The sand would blend in with the rest of the desert, and they'd be shielded from the sun while they slept.

Though what Sakura _hadn't _known what that Gaara apparently did not sleep. Ever.

It explained the bags around his eyes, though Sakura had read about the negative effects of sleep deprivation on one's psyche. No wonder Gaara had been so… _unstable_.

"Naruto's never had to worry about sleeping." Sakura pointed out as she dug some food from her backpack. "Do you think Kyuubi's not as overbearing as Shukaku?"

"No." Gaara disagreed. "I would guess that the seal used to bind Shukaku is different from the one used on Kyuubi. Shukaku's seal has been notoriously weak. Over the years our elders have tried strengthening it, but it will inevitably begin to decay as I grow old."

"We need to figure out how to fix that." Sakura decided. "It would be a hell of a lot easier for you to deal with Shukaku after a good night's sleep, I would think."

Gaara had nothing more to say on that, and Sakura was already at a dead end anyway. She knew nothing of sealing techniques, and there hadn't been anything written on the seal that was used on Naruto. Though if Gaara could wait a couple of years, they could always petition Konoha for the design, surely Tsunade would see the benefit…

Sakura's stomach tightened. She missed home. She missed her fellow genin, her parents, even Tsunade's stern voice would have sounded heavenly. It had been easy to distract herself at Suna, but now, out in the desert? She missed _beds_ and _showers_ and _people_.

"How do you feel?" She forced herself to ask. "Now that you've officially left home?"

Gaara looked to her before closing his eyes, thinking. "Nothing." He answered. "Nothing at all."

"Oh."

Well, maybe that was expected. He didn't have friends back in Suna. And he didn't need a bed, so why would he have cause to miss one?

"If we ever go back to Konoha, we'll get that seal fixed." Sakura promised. "And then I'm going to find you the biggest, comfiest bed in the village for your first nap. Then, when you leave, you'll have something to miss."

Gaara said nothing, but even under the dim light, Sakura could have sworn she saw a smile.

* * *

Sakura woke to panicked breathing and muttered words.

Before she could even process what was going on, her hand went to her kunai. The oil lamp had long gone out, and the hole in the ceiling wasn't enough to illuminate much of anything. It took Sakura a minute before she realized that the words were coming from Gaara.

"I won't kill her… I _won't._"

Sakura froze, and her hand gripped the handle of her kunai tightly. That muttering… that was like how he had been during the chunin exams. When Shukaku's influence was strong. How strong was the Beast now? Gaara was fighting it, it seemed, but how well could Gaara hold up against something so powerful?

"I'm not weak. _You're wrong._"

An inhuman growl seemed to tear itself from Gaara, and Sakura saw a flutter of movement in front of her. She thrust her kunai out defensively, but didn't connect, and nothing connected with her. There was something large in front of her, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she recognized the large claw of Shukaku, made with Gaara's sand, outstretched at her. But it was hesitating… Gaara was holding it back.

"_Not her_. _Not this time_."

The claw gently fell to the ground, and the sand began to slither back into the earth. Sakura could see Gaara a bit more clearly now. He was clutching his head, shaking.

He seemed… afraid. Not some powerful, killer shinobi. Just a scared boy. A boy who was trying not to kill her.

"Gaara, take a deep breath." Sakura found herself instructing. "You're stronger than it thinks. You don't have to kill."

"It's been too long." He answered, his voice half a growl as it tore itself from his throat. "There hasn't been any blood. It's not satisfied, it won't be satisfied."

Sakura paused. He was… communicating with it. Even if it was currently murderous, Shukaku was talking.

She didn't know if she'd get this opportunity again.

"Why?" She asked. "Why does it want blood? Does it need it to survive?"

The question was enough to stop Gaara's shaking momentarily. He was confused, and maybe the question had been direct enough to distract Shukaku as well.

"It… it hates us." Gaara finally replied. "It hates humanity. Humanity is… humanity is a blight on this earth, to be killed, to be bled dry."

"Is it because we sealed it away? Does it want revenge?"

The silence seemed to hang for an eternity. A minute passed, another, then another, and just when Sakura had given up hope on an answer, Gaara finally spoke again, no longer in a growl, but strangely calm.

"No?" Gaara's confusion was clear. "Humanity is… cursed. They did not learn. They will not learn."

"Learn? Learn what?"

"They bicker and squabble and kill like animals, so they should be put down like _animals_."

Well… Sakura couldn't argue with it there. War and shinobi had gone hand in hand since before the founding of the villages. But… "So you think killing us is the answer? We won't learn that way. The only way we can learn is by example, and if you encourage us to kill, we'll never change."

Gaara was quiet again, but Sakura suddenly felt as though a weight off her chest had been lifted. The aura that Shukaku's chakra generated… it was so heavy that _anyone _could feel it. "It… said we don't deserve its help. Only its judgment." Gaara spoke. "But now it's gone. Just… gone." He looked up at her, now more afraid than ever. "It doesn't just leave."

"Well, I'm sure it's still _there_, but it seems like I got the better end of that argument." Sakura couldn't help but laugh. The fear she had been repressing finally came forward, shaking its way into her hands and causing her to drop the kunai to the ground.

She could have _died. _

She could have died but she didn't. She and Shukaku had _spoken_, even if indirectly.

And there was _so _much to unpack.

But not now. She'd been woken from her sleep, and her mind wasn't nearly rested enough to consider the implications of the conversation. But before that, before sleep…

She stood, going to Gaara's side and sitting next to him. He shook, still, more than she was. "Can I touch you?" She found herself asking. Gaara looked to her, unsure until she reached out to gently touch his shoulder. He didn't pull away, so she let her hand remain.

"... I tried to kill you."

"Well it's not like it's the first time. What matters this time is that you stopped."

Gaara nodded. "I stopped." He repeated. "I never stop."

"Wrong. This time, you stopped. And that means you'll always be able to stop, whenever you want."

"Whenever I want…" Gaara nodded again. "I can stop."

They sat for an hour in silence, and Sakura didn't take her hand off of his shoulder until exhaustion overwhelmed her and all she could do was sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Two shinobi patrols had passed them in the night.

Gaara's sand covering them proved more than enough to keep them from being discovered, but Sakura still couldn't help but feel uneasy as they silently packed up their small camp. Until they were out of Sand country, would they truly be safe?

Now was the time, she decided, to _really_ work on her sensing jutsu.

"I'll know if anyone comes within about two hundred feet." She explained aloud. If they were going to be traveling together, she figured Gaara needed to know what she was (and wasn't) capable of. "But right now the technique is just a pulse. I can't keep it up permanently."

"So every two hundred feet we check again." Gaara confirmed. "I will look for anything you miss."

"What I really need is a way to keep it going for a long time." Sakura complained, digging out her scroll to mull over the writing. "Right now I've only succeeded in the first two techniques. Basic sensing and nature affinity sensing and oh my _god_ I just _realized!" _Gaara gave her a confused look as a grin came to her face. "Gaara do you know your chakra affinity?"

"Earth." Gaara answered, and that was _it_, that was piece one of a puzzle she'd been unable to get before.

"Hold still. Try to maybe channel some earth chakra for me, please."

Gaara did so and as Sakura concentrated her chakra the piece clicked into place and of _course_ that was what earth chakra felt like: deep, solid, unmoving, unbreaking, like the ground beneath her feet. It was the energy that she'd felt on a fair amount of the Suna shinobi, the one that had put her at ease, and Sakura couldn't help but wonder if the other affinities were also as obvious as her mind wanted to believe they were. Suna was supposed to be Wind Country, so was that riling force that so many seemed to exude a wind energy?

"You wouldn't happen to know any techniques of a different affinity, would you?" Sakura asked tentatively, and though it took far more of Gaara's focus and a few hand signs, suddenly a breath of wind left his mouth and Sakura confirmed two things.

One, the riling force was _absolutely_ wind energy, which meant now she knew two affinities for certain. Two, Sakura could use this technique not only for sensing the affinity of a person, but the affinity of a _technique_, which meant that if she could successfully use this sensing in battle, she could at least deduce the affinity that would work best against whatever technique was being used against her.

The trouble was, right now anyway, this sensing jutsu took up all of her focus. A shinobi didn't have the safety in battle to just sense without moving or protecting themselves.

"I need to practice as we move." Sakura confirmed. "And I need to practice _while_ moving, which is essentially looking forward while looking everywhere else simultaneously." She let out a groan and slumped to the ground. "I'm not a damned _Hyuuga_." She lamented. "No wonder people fear them so much."

And it wasn't just _chakra_ that Hyuuga could sense with their All-Seeing Eyes either, they could see _everything_ in a 360 degree radius, see through _walls_, see the tenketsu points in the body that allowed chakra to flow, and all of this was a genetic skill they could access from _childhood_. Sakura was trying to emulate the finer points of a kekkei genkai, and now she could begin to admit that there might have been a reason that this sensing scroll was kept locked up in the most secure library in Konoha.

The other depressing fact was that this was only sensing. Just because she could sense a user and what they could do didn't mean she had the arsenal to counter them. Right now, all she could hope was that whatever she sensed, Gaara was enough to take them down, and while she was fairly certain Gaara was capable of holding his own against the majority of enemies they might come up against, that wasn't the _point_, she was supposed to be working to _protect _the Jinchuuriki, not the other way around.

So, Sakura concluded, she needed to learn. She needed to learn new techniques and practice her own, and hope to whatever gods might be out there that they didn't find any Akatsuki members on the road until then.

"So you are an earth user, but you've learned some wind techniques." Sakura spoke again. "Anything else?" Gaara shook his head. Too good to be true to hope he had another affinity up his sleeve. "Right. Well, that means if there's an earth or wind shinobi, I'll know, but I'll be guessing on the other three. Other than basic shinobi techniques like substitution, I only know one technique of use…" She let out another groan. "And that's the Tunneling Technique. Maybe I'm the one that should have been called 'dead last' in school. The most deadly thing in my arsenal is just me getting lucky with a shuriken throw."

"Tunneling." Gaara confirmed, thinking aloud. "An earth technique."

"Yep."

"So...you want to learn more earth techniques?"

"What? I mean, you know them?" Sakura didn't want to be surprised, but she'd kind of thought that Gaara's sand was his entire game. "Because I can't do the...do the sand thing, you know."

"I had to gain a fundamental understanding of earth nature to fully know how to manipulate the sand around me." Gaara explained. "I may do so differently than most, but my sand techniques mimic earth techniques that other shinobi know." He lifted a hand, and Sakura watched as he began to demonstrate. His sand flowed out from the scroll on his back until a decent pile sat between them. With a flick of his hand, it shot upwards, solidifying into a wall. Then, with another hand movement, the wall separated into small pieces. The pieces shot forward like small projectiles, burying themselves into the sandwall that made up the cave.

It was...simple, but impressive. And of course, there was a problem. "You're doing that without hand signs." Sakura lamented. "Us non-Jinchuuriki usually need hand signs to make a jutsu work."

"The strong ones don't."

"...oh _come on_."

Sakura hated that Gaara was right, hated it because now she had _another_ goal to stack on her never ending list of probably impossible goals she'd never reach. Kakashi still had to use hand signs for his jutsu, Sakura didn't know anyone short of _Hokage_ level (other than Jinchuuriki of course) that had the control for such a feat. And without a teacher, she didn't even have a place to start, other than to just…do it.

"One kick at a time." Gaara told her, and Sakura was really beginning to _regret_ planting that thought in his mind.

* * *

It didn't take long for a training schedule to make itself known.

When the sun began to set, Gaara would wake her, and the two would begin Rock Lee's Youthful Training Combos. Gaara would erect a pillar of sand for them to use as a punching dummy, and Sakura couldn't help but find it humorous that the pillar always seemed to sort of look like an air conditioner.

Once physical training was done, Gaara would begin to pack up the camp, and Sakura would try to cast a jutsu with only one hand sign. She needed to take steps; there was no use in cutting out hand signs entirely until she was certain she was capable of negating any at _all_. The Tunneling Technique was a rough start, but Sakura figured if she could maintain the dimensions of a tunnel in her mind _and_ understand the chakra manipulation needed to dig simultaneously, well, there'd be nothing she couldn't do.

Once Gaara had finished packing, they moved out. They ran at a steady pace northwards, not too fast, but always pushing themselves. Sakura's job was to pulse for chakra signatures every couple hundred feet, and Gaara's job was to ensure she didn't run into a rock while doing it. Sakura never thought she'd consider running to be the easiest part of her day, but hitting a rhythm seemed to calm her, as well as knowing for sure that they were progressing and nobody had caught up yet to stop them.

Sunset, and then came finding a place to camp. Sakura insisted on trying to dig camping holes into the desert sands herself, failing miserably at first until Gaara sat her down and began to explain the different layers of earth beneath her, how sand was light and typically did not pack well unless acted on by a stronger force, and that the dirt and clay beneath the sand required far more energy to move aside. The comprehension was enough to help her move the earth more efficiently, but at the end of the day her holes were only just big enough to fit two people standing side by side.

After enough failures, Gaara would make a cozy sand nest for them, they would eat, and Sakura would continue with training jutsu without hand signs. She would never last long before chakra depletion and exhaustion overcame her, and more often than not would simply pass out where she sat, waking up the next morning covered by a warm blanket.

It was on day four that Shukaku spoke again.

Morning had come and the two had taken shelter beneath the sand once again, and thus began another of Sakura's fruitless efforts to create a tunnel with a single hand sign. Without a single sort of indication to any progress, Sakura didn't feel great about the training. No way of telling what she was doing wrong, no way to correct herself…

And then Gaara began to mutter to himself, which he hadn't done since he'd nearly attacked Sakura on their first night out of Suna. This time though, the mutterings did not seem desperate or scared, only confused.

Sakura felt brave enough to approach; Gaara had resisted the urge to kill once, so she figured her chances were fairly good. As she sat down next to him, she gently put her hand on his shoulder again, and immediately she noticed Gaara take calmer, more even breaths… did touch mean so much to him?

"What is it saying?"

"That humans are weak and useless and can't do anything right." Gaara replied. "It's… he's laughing at you."

"He?" So Shukaku was male? That had interesting implications. (What was gender to a beast of pure chakra, anyway?) The laughing didn't surprise Sakura; Shukaku seemed confident, perhaps haughty, and she was fruitlessly bashing her head against what was probably the most difficult ninjutsu concept ever. "He could help, instead of laugh." Sakura pointed out. "A centuries old chakra beast probably knows one or two things about how chakra works."

Silence, and then Gaara began to shake. "No. No no. He won't…humans aren't worth helping. Useless. Weak."

"Oh." Sakura replied, her tone innocent. "I guess he doesn't know anything about chakra control then."

Gaara gave her a look of confused desperation, but Sakura did her best to keep a poker face. She'd only heard Shukaku's words through Gaara once before, but she had a feeling, an inkling, that she might be able to use that small interaction to her advantage. And first she had to get Shukaku's attention.

"That old lump of sand has been sealed inside Jinchuuriki for so long, I bet he doesn't even remember what a hand sign is." She continued, looking towards Gaara with a smirk that she hoped beyond hope Shukaku could also get a glimpse of through his eyes. "He talks real big game about humanity being unable to learn, but maybe he's just a really _terrible_ teacher."

Sakura could _feel_ Shukaku's chakra blast its way into Gaara's body, and the aura of killing intent radiating off of him was enough to make her scoot back a couple of inches. But Gaara held firm, gripping at the earth beneath him to steady himself.

"He… you shouldn't have said that."

"Oh, so now he's mad because I'm telling the truth." Sakura tried her best to keep up the grin, though with the amount of adrenaline running through her she probably looked more like she was gritting her teeth. "That's too bad. All he'd have to do to prove me wrong is help me out with my ninjutsu, but if he can't do that, that's just going to prove my point."

All at once, like a balloon popping, the energy around Gaara seemed to deflate. Gaara took gasping breaths as he regained control, and Sakura regretted, briefly, putting him through the ordeal.

"He… he says… " Gaara suddenly turned bright red, closing his mouth and looking away.

"Well, what? Now you have to tell me."

"He says you're a crazy bitch."

Sakura snorted. Not the reaction she'd been expecting. But not a terrible one either.

Gaara took another breath and began to speak.

"You think too much. Using chakra should be natural, like breathing. When you try too hard to bend it to your will, it begins to work against you. Chakra is the connection between you and the world. It shapes you, you do not shape it, you snot-nosed-" A pause. "... I'm not repeating that."

"What, more cursing? He could come up with more original insults." Sakura laughed. Poor Gaara, stuck as a translator between a grumpy beast of impossible power and a thirteen year old who was more than definitely in over her head.

But it was _something_, she had to admit.

"Alright." Sakura stood up, cracking her knuckles as she made her way back to the center of the pit. "Chakra is the connection between me and the world. Using it should be easy." She looked back to Gaara for confirmation. "Well, I'm no Bijuu, but I'll see what I can do."

She concentrated, focusing at first on the ground beneath her feet. She had thought Tunneling involved pushing her chakra into the earth and moving it into the shape she desired, but if Shukaku was to be believed… was chakra work more akin to making one's energy resonate with the energy of what they were working with? And what of shinobi who could shape their chakra into such forces, summoning fireballs and waterfalls and such with a few grand hand gestures?

There was more to it than that, Sakura wasn't stupid enough to think otherwise. But maybe, just maybe… Shukaku was starting her on something basic.

Chakra connected herself to the world.

That meant that she had energy and the world had energy.

The ground beneath her feet was steadfast and strong. It would not easily move. Shukaku had said its will would shape hers, not the other way around. So, maybe she had to stop thinking like a shinobi, and start getting into the frame of mind of her technique.

So, in her mind, she pictured the tunnel she wanted it to create. She pictured it unyielding and dense, the walls holding themselves up with enough strength that one could crawl through without fear of collapse. She imagined the feeling she got when she sensed Gaara's earth chakra, that feeling of peace and protection.

And without further thought, Sakura put her hands to the ground and send out her chakra.

With a small puff of dust, a hole appeared in front of her. It was only an inch deep, a fraction of what she'd imagined, but its diameter was exactly what she'd pictured, and most importantly…

She'd done it without hand signs.

She looked back to Gaara gleefully. "I did it." She said simply. "I did it, I made a hole!"

"You did." Gaara replied, a small smile on his face. "...And now Shukaku says, you need to make another one that's not so pathetic."

Not even the insult could bring her mood down. Sakura simply stuck out her tongue in Gaara's direction before turning back to what she now considered her best work. A small hole, not very deep, not very impressive, but it meant that it was _possible_, she _could_ do jutsu without hand signs if she just kept practicing, just kept training.

And that was a small spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't quite as behind Sasuke and Naruto as she'd thought.

* * *

The scenery changed in a shock of green as the shifting desert sands began to slowly show signs of budding grassland. The sun didn't shine quite so harshly in the day, and the winds that used to whip up bits of gravel into her eyes quieted down into a gentle breeze that teased at Sakura's hair and made her want to run through the grass like a child.

By their calculations, they still had not reached the border of Land of Earth, but rather had hit a more habitable part of the Wind Country. Sakura couldn't help but wonder why the village hadn't been set up in a place like this, where livestock could graze and the sun wouldn't burn their skin...but shinobi were notoriously stubborn. Probably had thought what didn't kill them would only make them stronger. (And to their credit, they were right.)

Sakura amused herself with the sight of hundreds of sheep being herded across the land. There were livestock in Konoha, usually cattle, and never quite so much as out here. These areas likely fed the entire country.

Sakura wondered if shinobi ever really had cause to come out this far, other than passing by on missions. Were any of the civilians chakra users? A quick pulse refuted this theory, but that didn't mean they weren't out there. There might be children born into the shepherd's life, raised and grown without ever knowing they had chakra, that they could be warriors of great strength and skill.

Never knowing war. Never knowing battle. Never knowing death or betrayal or fearing for the lives of those they held dear.

Sakura started envying shepherds after that thought.

She should have known the peaceful days of travelling were too good to be true, that they couldn't last forever. She was actually the one who sensed the trouble first, though she had not expected it at the time. An aptly timed sensory pulse, for the first time in days, came back with two chakra signatures far ahead of them.

"One's earth." Sakura confirmed to Gaara, halting them in their tracks. "The other...not sure, not one of the two I know. If they're Suna patrols, we'll have to avoid them. But, on the other hand, if we can get close, maybe we can figure out what the other affinity is."

"I'll deal with them if they become troublesome." Gaara answered simply. Sakura didn't want to think too much about what 'dealing with them' implied.

They made their way over one of the rolling grassland hills, a mild layer of fog only somewhat obscuring their eyes as they approached the two signatures. Sakura's intent was to ask for directions, maybe see what the shinobi were up to. Play it cool, play it cool.

What Sakura wasn't expecting was to find two men wearing headbands that definitely did _not_ have the Suna hourglass engraved upon the metal. Instead, she saw a single line, the top half of a circle. Not a village symbol she recognized, and judging by the slight furrow on Gaara's face, not one that he recognized either. And while the first thing she wanted to do was ask what village they hailed from, the men were otherwise occupied by the two people in front of them: a mother and daughter.

"You know the agreement." One of the men, the earth user, spoke up. He was a large man, as solid-looking as the element he wielded, and needed no weapons in order to look intimidating. Sakura was sure the man could snap her in half with his fists. "She's chakra sensitive. Hiroshi needs to train shinobi from a young age so we can start making a name for our village."

"She's four years old!" The mother protested. "She's too young!"

"I _said_, you know the agreement." The man reiterated. He reached out, grabbing the young girl by the arm and yanking her from her mother's grasp. "She'll be well compensated for her work. Probably better fed than in this dump of a farm anyway."

Sakura could logically argue that she had no right to stick her nose in the affairs of foreign shinobi. Sakura could logically argue that even with Gaara on her side, there was no real benefit to taking out this shinobi. Their leader would still demand child soldiers, the repercussions would fall on her _and_ this child, and she wasn't trained well enough in battle to guarantee that she could stand much of a chance, or even do _any_ good at all.

Logically, backing off and living to fight another day was the smart thing to do.

Well, smart moves sure as hell hadn't gotten her here.

"Gaara, I need you to do something for me." Sakura spoke up, quiet. "I need you to watch my back and make sure I don't die."

"You're going to fight them?" Gaara asked.

"Hell yeah I'm going to fight them. I have to learn how to hold my own somehow, and this is as good an excuse as any." Notwithstanding that they would be helping a little girl and her mother. That was worth brownie points to the universe, wasn't it? Sakura took a deep breath, steadying herself.

She had three things at her disposal: sensing jutsu, Tunneling Technique, and the basic ninja tools and techniques she had learned at the Academy.

And she needed to take down two enemy shinobi of unknown strength level with just that knowledge.

She brought her hands together, cracking her knuckles in preparation.

_This time...I start making good on my promise. Naruto, Sasuke...this is the first step to making sure I'm on your level. _

Another deep breath, and Sakura shouted as loud as she could.

"Hey rock for brains, put that girl down!"

The man turned to look at her, and Sakura's last thought before the fight was that Shukaku was right.

She was a crazy bitch.


	12. Two Worlds Away (Intermission Part Two)

The hot springs quietly burbled away as Jiraiya allowed himself to settle into the depths of the warm waters. There was just something fantastic about a spring after a long week of traveling, something his apprentice likely wouldn't ever be able to appreciate until he was much older. Naruto had only come to the springs at Jiraiya's insistence; currently the young shinobi was concentrating on a single leaf pressed between his palms. It wasn't a surprise to the sage that the boy possessed a wind affinity; his parents had both had a wind affinity under their belts, and the boy was so bouncy and full of energy that anything _other_ than wind might have been a bona fide disaster. Still, at such a young age, mastering any affinity would be difficult.

Though, Jiraiya had to remind himself, Naruto _had_ mastered the Rasengan in one week, albeit in a way that one might have argued as cheating. But Jiraiya wasn't going to take that victory from the kid. The fact that he had managed it at all just proved to Jiraiya that his initial thoughts had been _wrong_, this kid had every bit as much potential as his father, even if his mind was much harder to focus.

It made Jiraiya regret his absence in the boy's life prior.

But Jiraiya regretted many things.

It was, regardless, the here and now that mattered the most. If he dwelled on past mistakes, he would simply continue to make future ones. He had two years now to ensure that Naruto was prepared for the paths ahead of him. Prepared for Akatsuki, prepared for _Sasuke_, prepared for-

Movement caught Jiraiya's eyes. Naruto, concentrated as he was, missed a small, white slug slowly inching towards the hot spring's edge. Jiraiya was well used to looking out for such slugs. Constant contact with Tsunade had been a stipulation behind allowing Naruto to leave the village for training, and what use was he as an information gatherer if he had no way to contact his Hokage? It was rare, however, for a slug to come unprompted. Usually it was in response to a message of his own, and he hadn't checked in since that small farming village about a week back…

"Lord Jiraiya, the Lady Tsunade has entrusted me with an important message." The small slug, an extension of Katsuyu's will, spoke softly into Jiraiya's ear. "She wishes to inform you that Naruto's second teammate, Sakura Haruno, has also defected to join with Sasuke under Orochimaru. She has been missing from the village for several days now."

Jiraiya felt his heart sink into the very pit of his stomach. Briefly, he glanced at Naruto. The kid was so focused, so determined to keep his promise to that girl, to bring back the Uchiha heir and make things right again…

Much like he had been, once, regarding Orochimaru.

But even Jiraiya could not imagine where his own heart would have gone if _Tsunade_ had defected along with Orochimaru. Tsunade had been a rock, stability, someone he could always depend upon even if she herself did not believe it. He had thought that Sakura, perhaps, had been that to Naruto, someone he could always come home to, someone he could fight for...and for her to defect as well?

Part of Jiraiya angered at the girl's stupidity, but part of him understood _exactly_ how easily said stupidity could override all logical thought. And the more important thing now to consider was just exactly how badly Naruto was going to take it.

"Thank you, Katsuyu." Jiraiya murmured in reply. "Please let Tsunade know that I'll...break it gently."

As the slug left, Jiraiya focused back on Naruto. How to break it...or rather, should he even break it now at all? He had the suspicion that if Naruto heard the news now, nothing would stop him from heading into Sound Country himself to hunt his teammates down and knock some sense into the both of them. Hearing this news, no matter when, no matter under what circumstances, it was just going to break Naruto's heart.

"Look, pervy sage, I made a cut! Look, look!" Naruto suddenly began waving the leaf in Jiraiya's direction. A small cut, going about halfway down the leaf, was visible even through the steam of the springs. "It's halfway! I'll get it all the way through by tonight, you better believe it!"

Jiraiya forced himself to smile, to forget about the Sakura news for now. Naruto looked so happy with himself, he would be a monster to ruin his spirits now. "Good job, kid, if you stick to that we can start new training tomorrow."

"Yes! New training!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air before running off, no doubt to find another leaf to practice on. The sinking feeling still writhed in Jiraiya's stomach.

Not today but...soon, he'd have to break the news.

Soon he'd have to tell Naruto that he was the sole remnant of Team Seven.

* * *

Deep in the depths of the Village Hidden in the Sound, far within the twisting and turning tunnels of Orochimaru's hidden lairs, Sasuke Uchiha tested his sword upon several dozen thick stalks of bamboo. The blade had been a 'gift', a custom made weapon capable of channeling his lightning energy and dealing devastating damage to an opponent's nervous if the blade hit true. Even without his chakra running it, the blade was stupendously sharp, and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk as he imagined it piercing Itachi's flesh. It was one of many such fantasies he steeped his mind in as he trained. Anything to distract him from what he'd left behind. Anything to distract him from Sakura. Anything to distract him from…

He mistepped, missing his target by inches.

"Naruto." He cursed quietly. Always Naruto. Always one step behind. He still remembered the fearful aura that his teammate had generated at the waterfall that day. He still could feel the strength of Naruto's Rasengan, clashing against the fury of his Chidori. Even now as he remembered that day, his Sharingan wheeled to life, spinning in anger as Sasuke made to chop at the bamboo he had missed, again and again and again…

He stopped as he heard the door behind him slowly creak open. He turned in time to see Kabuto slinking in, almost as snake-like as his master, and perhaps just as bothersome. Kabuto seemed at least somewhat hesitant to disturb Sasuke's training, which was better than the typical arrogant attitude the shinobi postured with.

"Sasuke." Kabuto began. "Lord Orochimaru has a mission he would like for you to perform."

Sasuke let out a small sigh as he sheathed his sword. Technically, as he trained under Orochimaru, he should have been considered a missing-nin. But as Orochimaru was the head of the Village Hidden in Sound, that meant that Sasuke was now technically a Sound genin, and thus was subject to the same hierarchy as the one he'd left behind in Konoha. Missions were...to be expected. He needed to earn his keep, after all, and missions would help keep his techniques sharp.

"What does he want?" Sasuke demanded. Some assassination mission, perhaps, or the retrieval of an important scroll, something he could use against Itachi? Or maybe even a simple escort mission, but any sort of trip nowadays was dangerous, what with Iwagakure becoming dangerously aggressive to the north of them, and rumors of civil war brewing in Kirigakure to the east. Any chance to test his skills against another shinobi brought him a shiver of anticipation.

"Well…" Kabuto continued, now sounding even more hesitant than before. "Well, you see, the sound daimyo's cat has gone missing, and he needs someone to retrieve it…"

There was silence in the training room, broken only by a small whistle of air making its way into the cavern. As he processed this, Sasuke found he could only make one embittered sound.

"...hn."


	13. Chapter 13

"Look at this pint-sized little brat, Asahi! Why, she's barely tall enough to reach my knee!"

Sakura resisted the urge to respond to the shinobi's taunts as the two men turned to face her. Perhaps it was strange, but she also had to resist the urge to quiver with fear. She had faced down _Gaara_ before, so why did these shinobi scare her now? She had Gaara backing her up, no less, which meant that these shinobi would barely even be a threat if she called on the Jinchuuriki to help her out.

But maybe it was because she didn't _want_ Gaara's help, she didn't want anyone's help taking down these bullies, because she'd relied on others for long enough. This was going to be her first true solo mission, and perhaps _that_ was what really scared her. She had to treat this like a life or death mission. No redos, no Gaara to back her up, no room for failure. She had to get these shinobi away from that child and make sure they didn't have a reason to come back.

Confidence. It was all about the confidence. Tsunade could frighten with just a single glare, so why couldn't she?

"You heard me." She retorted, straightening her back and attempting, maybe, to seem a little bit taller. "I said, put her down, or I'll show you what a real shinobi is capable of."

"A real shinobi?" The other man, Asahi, burst into laughter. Great. Intimidation: failure. "What village raised a little punk like you, huh? Why don't you come down off your high horse and take a look at what you're dealing with."

"Yeah, we're hot-blooded shinobi of the Plains!" The first man gestured boldly, dropping the girl just so he could pump a fist against his chest. "If you get on your knees and beg for forgiveness, maybe we'll let you live this once."

Plains? Sakura briefly look backed to Gaara, who looked equally confused. "There's no Plains shinobi!" She countered. "Sunagakure controls this territory."

"Sunagakure doesn't even know what they have out here! Hiroshi claimed this land years ago, and the foolish Kazekage hasn't even realized it yet. Those dumb brats never leave that silly little hole of theirs, which just means us real shinobi get access to all the fine pickings!"

A new shinobi village, huh? If Suna didn't know about this already, they'd probably pay a fortune for such information alone. It was too bad she'd pretty much turned Suna against her by taking Gaara along, otherwise she'd have quite the bargaining chip.

"Alright. So you're Plains." Sakura agreed. "That still doesn't give you the right to bully children away from their mothers. Like I said before, leave her be or I'll take you on myself, no matter what kind of shinobi you think you are."

"Whine, whine, whine." Asahi rolled his eyes. "I'm getting tired of listening to you talk. You had your chance to step down, so don't say we didn't warn you when we send you to the other side."

The man cracked his knuckles, and Sakura knew instantly that he was preparing to fight. And more importantly, she needed to move quickly if she wanted to get any sort of upper hand at all.

As the man moved to step forward, Sakura thrust her hands down towards the ground, focusing on the sensation of 'earth' that she had been working on over the past week. She didn't need a full tunnel; just a hole would do. She had to predict the location at which the man's foot would fall, and the approximate size of his foot...and then just add depth.

The ground beneath Asahi's foot sunk down about two inches. Not far, but just far enough that the man misstepped, tripping and falling flat onto his face.

Sakura grinned. So there was a use to her making potholes after all.

"Ow, son of a bitch!"

"Walk much, Asahi? Come on, you look like shit on the ground there." The other man laughed boisterously at his fallen comrade. "Gonna let a little girl show you up?"

"_Fuck_ no!" The man leapt to his feet, then went through a series of hand signs. Sakura managed to pick up only the final one (_tiger_) before rocks began to pull themselves up from the ground and mold themselves around Asahi's hands, eventually forming what looked to be large rock gauntlets.

She needed to learn that move, Sakura decided. That move was _cool_, and she had about five seconds before that move would be trying to bash her head in. She needed a way to knock this guy out, and she doubted making small holes would continue to do the trick-

Asahi moved, almost too fast for her eyes to register, and there was a clash of sand and rock as a wall appeared in front of her. Sakura let herself take a breath. Gaara had just saved her life.

But that had been a _failure_, damn it all. She didn't have time to think in combat. She needed to move _now_.

Gaara's sand had seemed to rise up from the earth, like a Mud Wall technique. Sakura didn't know the Mud Wall, but she did know something about the Tunneling technique: upon refilling the hole the technique created, earth rapidly filled in from one end to the other, with enough force to push out anything that had been left in the hole. If she could harness that force, use it to her advantage…

Sakura had an idea. It was about as crazy as challenging these men had been, and she hated having to potentially rely on Gaara to cover her if this proved a mistake. But this man moved so quickly, and obviously she couldn't best _rock fists_ in hand to hand combat.

So Sakura backed up, putting some distance between herself and the man. He'd been startled enough by Gaara's interference, which gave her precious seconds. He'd come for her again, likely just as direct a path towards her as before. Once again, she had to predict where he would run and when he would reach a certain spot.

She focused on the spot, praying her calculations were good enough, before focusing her mind to picture something she'd never quite thought of picturing before.

She pictured an imaginary tunnel forming upwards from the spot she'd chosen. It wasn't very thick, wasn't very wide, but it was taller than the man's height, a good seven feet. And then, as Sakura quickly began her hand signs, Sakura pictured herself not making the tunnel, but _filling_ it.

She felt her chakra rush from her towards the ground, and her eyes widen as she saw the earth at that very spot begin to swell and shoot upward...stopping about four feet short of her seven foot goal, but the three foot pillar was, unfortunately for Asahi, about the same height as his nether region. Asahi's dash forward put him right in the path of the pillar, and Sakura winced as the man crashed into it, folding in half with a cry of agony.

Alright, so her Reverse Tunneling Technique wasn't exactly how she'd pictured it but...well, she couldn't deny the results.

Score one point for Sakura.

"For fuck's _sake_, Asahi." The other man rolled his eyes as he watched his companion writhe on the ground. "She's like, ten years old."

"I don't care how old she is, Touma, _kick her ass_." Asahi replied with a pained growl.

Sakura braced herself, ready to dodge as she faced down the second man. Asahi would be down for a while, she hoped; groin shots were notoriously painful. That meant she could keep her focus on the new guy.

Touma put together four quick hand signals and Sakura saw his mouth seem to fill, his cheeks expanding. In quick succession, the man began to fire bullets of water directly at her.

First thought: so that was probably a _water_ chakra she'd sensed on the man earlier, and though she didn't want to waste her chakra confirming this on the bullets being shot her way, she could probably reasonably assume that the nature was water, which meant that now she only had lightning and fire left that she had to learn to distinguish.

Second thought: these were a _pain_ to dodge.

Admittedly, all of the running and training she'd done in the past weeks had been enough to quicken her stride somewhat. She ran in a large circle around Touma to dodge, keeping just at the edge of the man's aim. So far, Gaara's sand hadn't come up to defend her, which meant she was dodging this _all on her own_ which was a step further in becoming stronger. But she couldn't dodge forever, she had to _think_.

This Touma had seen her use her Reverse Tunneling and was now trying to keep her on her toes. She needed to stop and touch the ground in order to use that jutsu, and the instant she did, the water bullets would be on her. Plus, the surrounding terrain was just hills and plains, nowhere for her to hide behind for any sort of cover. That was what she needed, she realized, _cover_, and since she didn't know the Mud Wall technique or anything similar, she was a sitting duck the instant she tried to slow down.

There was no way for her to spontaneously learn a cover jutsu in the heat of battle, and Sakura came to the unfortunate conclusion that in any other case, she'd be out of luck. She could hope to move to the offensive, hope to be good enough to dodge the water bullets long enough to get in close with a kunai...and then she didn't know what _other_ abilities the shinobi might have for close range combat. And she would have to do this all quickly, before the first shinobi recovered from the groin shot.

Sakura just couldn't _do_ that on her own. She wasn't good enough yet. And maybe, at this point in time, there was no harm in admitting that to herself. After all, she _wasn't_ alone, like she'd expected to be.

She had Gaara. And that meant, by the luck of it all, that she _would_ have cover if she asked.

Konoha shinobi were prided for their teamwork, right? There was no harm in relying on someone else to cover your back where you were weak. And this would only be until Sakura was strong enough to handle such situations on her own.

Sakura made her way to Gaara's side, taking a deep breath of relief as his sand shot up automatically to protect them. "Sorry." She wheezed. "I'm just...not good enough to dodge those forever."

"You're apologizing?" Gaara asked. "It's not as though you didn't ask for me to watch your back."

"That's fair." Sakura acknowledged. "But I had hoped I'd be able to take these guys on my own."

"...you got one of them." Gaara nodded in the direction of the first shinobi, still on the ground. In the distance, the second was still firing water bullets in a constant stream, no doubt attempting to test the limits of Gaara's defense. Sakura was once again baffled by the sheer strength of Gaara's sand barriers. She'd seen Sasuke's Chidori best it once, but other than that, was _anything_ capable?

Sakura's first thought was that _she_ needed a defense that good. But then again, she already _had_ something that good. Sasuke and Naruto had both left her behind, her old _teammates_, but Gaara…

Gaara had _chosen_ to follow her.

Gaara was her teammate now.

And teammates worked together.

She'd tested her strength. She'd done fairly well for a first battle. But now it was time to see what the two of them _together_ could do.

"Gaara, let's take this clown down." Sakura spoke with resolve, turning her focus back to the water shinobi. He'd stopped the bullets, for now, and was rapidly performing hand signs, no doubt for a far stronger jutsu. He'd be distracted, if only for a moment, not thinking about the area around him so long as he thought Sakura was hiding behind Gaara's sand. And that was a _good_ situation for her to be in. "I want you to put up your strongest barrier for him. And whatever you do, don't let him see what I'm about to do."

Gaara seemed curious, but did as she said. He raised a hand, and a thick wall of sand erupted from the ground in front of them. And damn it all, it was obstructing _her_ view too, but…

But she didn't need to _see_ the shinobi, he was building up so much chakra for that water attack that Sakura was certain she could just _sense_ him. A couple of hand signs later and her senses pulsed out. Chakra, water chakra, was building, and whatever this attack was would be _huge_. Earth was strong against water, however, and Sakura trusted Gaara's sand would hold. She just had to move quickly while she had an opening. But what could she do?

Three things at her disposal. Sensing, Tunneling, and shinobi tools.

A smirk grew across Sakura's face.

With some more signs, she thrust her hands to the ground and created a tunnel, making the exit appear mere inches behind the water shinobi.

The next step relied on two assumptions.

One, whenever she filled a tunnel, earth poured in from her position, quickly filling the tunnel from one end to the other, _not_ filling the tunnel all at once. The first half of the jutsu dug the tunnel, the second half refilled, both following similar motions.

Two, if there was anything _in _the tunnel when she filled it, logic dictated that the rapidly filling earth would push anything inside out through the exit hole. (And considering the rate at which the tunnel filled, Sakura could assume said object would be pushed out with a decent amount of force.

So Sakura turned to Gaara for help with her next step. "I need a small ball of sand, quick!"

Now perhaps even more confused, Gaara obliged, holding out a packed ball for Sakura to grab. Sakura took it and reached inside her own pouch for a small slip of paper before putting it onto the ball.

A timed paper bomb.

She activated the bomb before tossing it into the tunnel she had just created. Then, in a quick motion, Sakura filled her tunnel.

There was one second of heart-wrenching silence. Then, several things happened at once.

The first was that the water shinobi's jutsu hit Gaara's wall with incredible force. The ground shook around them as the two powers collided, but Gaara's wall inevitably proved the victor, standing completely firm against whatever it was the shinobi had sent out.

Then, immediately after the ground had settled, it shook once more as Sakura heard an explosion, the sign that her paper bomb had gone off.

The sand wall in front of them slowly faded away back into the earth, and Sakura looked upon the now scorched area beyond them. She saw small flames licking at the grass, and a charred circle around where her exit hole had once been. Lying on the ground, blackened from flames and the sheer force of the bomb, was the body of the water shinobi.

Sakura's heart stopped for a brief moment as she realized she'd _killed_ him.

(And it was her first kill, the first time any of her skills had been enough to match another, let alone best them, she wasn't even sure that _Naruto_ _or Sasuke_ had a kill count yet, and suddenly here she was with that tally mark up to 'one'.)

The other shinobi looked on with horror at the scorched area next to him, and though he still looked pained from his injury, he began to crawl away. Without even thinking, Sakura spoke to Gaara.

"S-stop him from leaving."

And Gaara did, his sand reaching out to entwine around the shinobi's legs and hold him in place. To his credit, he did not use much more force than that. How funny, Sakura thought, that the famed killer showed such restraint now, and she, no doubt considered the weakest of Team Seven, had just killed with more ease than she'd thought possible. A single _paper bomb_.

"Sakura?"

Sakura forced herself back into reality. Gaara seemed...was he _worried_? Seeing that look on his face was perhaps one of the worst things she'd ever seen. Only when Shukaku reared his power did calm, collected Gaara ever show much emotion, but now...now she could see the worry lines on his face. No, she couldn't fall apart in front of him. She couldn't fall apart _here_. There was still an enemy, and she had one thing left to do.

She walked to the earth shinobi's side, kneeling down so that she could look him in the eyes. "Alright." She spoke, pulling back the tremor she knew wanted to sneak into her voice. "This boss of yours, Hiroshi. You're going to tell him to stop harassing _children_ into being his soldiers. You tell him this stops now, or he's going to be next. You got that?"

"Y-yeah, yeah, I got it, I got it!" The shinobi insisted. He was _afraid_ of her, Sakura realized. "Please, just don't kill me!"

No…she wasn't a killer, she told herself (only she _was_ now), and there was no point in causing more death today. She gestured to Gaara, who pulled back his sand without another word. The shinobi didn't need prompting. He pulled himself to his feet and began a sort of crippled run, looking back only twice before being convinced that Sakura would not pursue him further.

* * *

The young girl, Hatsuko, was enamored of the 'lovely lady' that had saved her from the 'bad shinobi'. Her mother, Kozue, was (perhaps rightly so) a bit more wary of the woman who'd taken out an enemy so quickly, but was also more gracious than fearful, insisting that Sakura and Gaara both come stay at her home for their trouble, and have dinner with them, _naturally_. Sakura couldn't help but think the arrangement was for further benefit to the small family; if anyone else tried to come and take Hatsuko, Sakura would of course be obligated to protect her again. But Sakura wasn't going to be stupid enough to turn down warm food and a roof over her head, not after so long camping in the desert.

"Hiroshi is a bully, of course. I'm sure someone like you has seen it a million times before." Kozue explained as she fussed over a small stew pot. Her house was on a quaint farmland; it was not always so, but at the moment it was just her and her daughter. "My husband and my eldest two have already been recruited into his new army. At some point he hopes to challenge Suna for rights to the land and rights to call this place a new shinobi village. With the current Kazekage dead…"

"There won't be much to stand in his way." Sakura deduced, looking over to Gaara with a frown. Gaara was the Kazekage's son, and no doubt he knew better than anyone how ill equipped the recovering Sunagakure was to deal with such a menace. Their quick war with Konoha had thinned their ranks and left them without a leader. Now, with Gaara gone as well, Suna had little hope of putting up an adequate fight against a growing shinobi army.

"I do appreciate what you've done, but it's only a matter of time before they come for Hatsuko again. And you will not be able to stand against them all." Kozue continued. "I'll provide for you, for your kindness, but if you wish to live, you'll leave first thing tomorrow."

It was sound advice. Sakura was still trembling over the fact that she'd managed to kill a shinobi at all, how could she possibly hope to fair against an army? Even if she'd wanted to stay and help these people, even if a part of her wanted to go against Hiroshi...she and Gaara were only two. That wasn't nearly enough, and she _definitely_ wasn't strong enough. She was just...passing by.

When night finally fell, Gaara wasn't the only one with insomnia.

Every time Sakura closed her eyes, she saw the charred body, over and over again. She'd seen death before, hell she'd seen _worse _than death before during the chuunin exams, but someone just the knowledge that she had caused it made it that much more difficult for her mind to process. So she made her way to the roof outside, hoping the fresh air would clear her head. Gaara, of course, was there, keeping a vigilant watch on the surrounding plains.

It was quiet, so quiet, so peaceful…

And in the distance, it was still there, that charred spot.

Sakura allowed herself to cry. She'd earned it, damn it all. It shouldn't be easy to take a life at _all_, it shouldn't ever get easier, even if a shinobi was supposed to bury their emotions. Those two shinobi had been comrades of a sort, and she'd _killed_ one of them. Did the survivor feel remorse? Guilt? Were they spending the night mourning their comrade? Had the water shinobi had a family somewhere too, someone who would miss him?

She flinched as she felt a sudden hand on her shoulder. Gaara had moved next to her, eerily quiet as always, but the fact that he was here to comfort her was...well, _comforting_.

"I think sometimes I hate being a shinobi." She admitted, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "But if I can't kill one stranger, how can I possibly hope to protect my friends? Akatsuki, Orochimaru...they'll do worse than kill them. I shouldn't even think to hesitate at all."

"That's how I used to think." Gaara replied. "Then Naruto knocked some sense into me."

Sakura blinked as she looked over to Gaara. Was he...was he making a _joke_?

She couldn't help it. She burst into laughter, ripples of it making their way through her body as she collapsed into a giggling heap.

"_Knocked_ it into you alright." She wheezed. "Gaara, holy _shit_."

Gaara just smiled.

And damn it all, he was right once again. What was it she had told him on their first night out? He didn't have to kill. There was another way. And that also meant that _she_ didn't have to kill if she could find another way. Maybe Akatsuki and Orochimaru wouldn't give her a choice. Maybe her hand would be forced. But if she could find a better way, shouldn't she? Shinobi had always followed a path of war, death, and destruction, and if things were ever going to change, it needed to start somewhere.

It could start with her and him. It could start here and now.

"Gaara." Sakura decided. "I want to do something really stupid."

"Yes?"

"I want to take this Hiroshi down a couple pegs."

"Where do we start?"


	14. Chapter 14

_You could just kill her now and not have to deal with any of this… _

Gaara had heard the voice of Shukaku in his head since he could remember. Gaara had been _listening_ to the voice of Shukaku since he was barely a child. Now that he had made the active decision to _ignore_ the voice of the beast in his mind, Shukaku had become more difficult to manage than ever before. It was as if the beast had taken personal offense to Gaara's purposeful ignorance, which… well, was probably true, but Gaara didn't exactly feel sorry for him.

It was precisely because he'd chosen to ignore Shukaku that he'd ended up in this situation, yes, but right now Gaara wouldn't have changed that for anything. Even though he was about to sneak into a heavily guarded fortress alone, something that would have given most shinobi pause, Gaara had no regrets or hesitations.

He was doing it for Sakura. He was doing it for his _friend_.

The current problems they faced, Sakura had summed up succinctly, were several things. One was that they were only two people, and they had no idea how big an army Hiroshi had gathered up. Two, they knew nothing about Hiroshi himself, other than that he had to be strong in order to wrangle the entire northern strip of the Wind Country under his control. Three, Sakura was nowhere near skilled enough to keep up with Gaara yet. (Which Gaara was beginning to find a debatable point, but Sakura wouldn't listen to his reasoning on that matter, so he'd let the issue drop.)

Two of these problems could be approached with a simple reconnaissance mission. The choice to send Gaara alone had been an obvious one, though one Sakura had fought bitterly against at first. He was quiet, he had access to spying skills that most would not anticipate, and he had his natural sand defense in case of an emergency. Whomever this Hiroshi was, he would not be expecting a Jinchuuriki to challenge him, and keeping that element of surprise was vital to overcoming him.

So, Gaara would go to the fortress, and Sakura would go to the growing town that had sprung up around the fortress, looking for any sort of dissenters that might aid them in a (hopefully) quick coup. Sakura's current goal was minimizing the loss of life.

_Admirable, but stupid. The easiest way to solve this would be to kill the entire fortress army outright. If you're not going to kill the girl, at least kill _them_. _

Gaara feared they wouldn't have a choice in the matter unless Sakura could get enough people to their cause. They were two genin shinobi who were attempting to start a revolution. The odds were slim at best. As Sakura had put it, it was a really stupid idea, with far too many things capable of going wrong.

But the weird thing was, Gaara was starting to like these stupid ideas of hers. He hadn't felt this _alive_ since…

Well.

Regardless, doing this sort of thing on a whim was kind of… Fun. No iron-willed Kazekage to send him on mission after mission, no distrusting siblings to reign him in. He could just do what he wanted, when he wanted.

_And now that you can, of _course _you start to develop a conscience. _

Ah, maybe that was why Shukaku was angry. Gaara finally had a taste of freedom and he _wasn't _killing everything that moved. But Gaara doubted he would have even come along with Sakura if not for his new "conscience" anyhow, so it was a mute point.

_You think too much. When the hell are you going to break inside this damn fortress, Gaara? _

When the night had fallen and the moon had risen into the sky, Gaara thought in turn. Espionage didn't work best in daylight, and he had plenty of time before Sakura's assigned rendezvous. Plus, hearing Shukaku so annoyed at his lack of action was beginning to get somewhat amusing.

_Ah, fuck you, brat. _

Gaara smiled.

It was getting easier to smile, he realized. Sakura smiled so often it was beginning to feel contagious. For her, smiling seemed as natural as breathing. Gaara still had to focus to get the motion to work out just right, but Sakura always seemed to smile just a little bit bigger whenever he did, so he must have been doing something correctly.

_Ah shit, now you're getting sappy on me. If I ever see that Naruto kid again, I'm gonna kill him for making me listen to this. _

Naruto…

Sakura had mentioned the boy was out traveling with his mentor. If Gaara had any goal for this trip, it was to see him again, to show Naruto how much he'd changed. To show Naruto his new smile.

Gaara ignored the retching sounds Shukaku had started making at those thoughts and settled into his newly acquired seat. The top of the fortress was made up of flat roofs and towers, which were easy enough for guards to keep watch over. Gaara had simply taken one of the towers for himself. The guard had just come in for his shift when Gaara moved to knock him unconscious.

He… hadn't exactly been delicate. Gaara was fairly certain he hadn't cracked the man's skull, but if he had, well…

He just wouldn't mention it to Sakura.

He'd pulled on some of the guard's armor, in case anyone glanced his way, and had settled into keeping a watch on the area around him. Keeping watch was easy. Since he'd never been able to sleep, that was usually what he'd spent his nights doing anyway. Gaara had mastered a form of awake meditation of sorts, allowing his mind to go blank while letting his senses naturally pick up on anything that might be considered a threat. The closest he'd ever gotten to true sleep.

It was as quiet as a fortress could get. He heard occasional voices and shouts, but nothing out of the ordinary. As far as he could tell, Hiroshi had not yet returned to the fortress for the night, which was even more reason to wait until nightfall. He needed to observe Hiroshi himself, not just the fortress and its defenses.

Gaara took a deep breath and allowed his mind to go blank.

The silence went on and on, the movement below not aberrant enough to draw his eye, until all at once Shukaku spoke again.

_You're serious about this, aren't you, brat? Friendship with that girl. _

Of course he was, Gaara allowed himself to think. Sakura had said it herself. They were friends. Nothing more to it.

_There's everything more to it. She could be manipulating you into helping her. She clearly needs the protection, and who better than us? She wouldn't last a day out here on her own, but with you… _

Gaara grew angry before he could process the emotion. Shukaku was just goading him, yes, but Gaara had long grown tired of the beast's cynicism. He opened his eyes, about to think _very_ loudly just what he thought of Shukaku's comments…

But he wasn't at the fortress.

The area around him was dark and fogged. Black sand packed the ground beneath his feet, and there was a distant sound of wind and…

Bells?

Gaara looked around, somewhat panicked now. Had he been moved somewhere by some jutsu? Impossible, he thought, there was no way anyone could have overtaken him so easily, especially not with his protective sands around. But this _wasn't _the tower, he had to admit that, which meant something had hap-

"**Behind you, brat."**

Gaara spun around, and for the first time in his life fully took in the sight of Shukaku.

The beast was giant, far larger than any building he had seen in his life. He could make out a smaller head atop a body that was best described as rotund, composed of thick sand that seemed to shift and move with a mind of its own, regardless of the beast's actual movements. Behind the body, Gaara saw a single, massive tail, the indicative part that named Shukaku as the Ichibi, the One-Tailed Beast.

And it was chained up, Gaara noted. (To his relief). Restrained by loose black chains that seemed to stretch into the foggy void around them.

"**If not for these, I'd have broken free long ago.**" Shukaku explained, its voice deep, echoing against Gaara's body. "**But it is still a weak seal. Your predecessors were certainly no Uzumaki.**"

Uzumaki… wasn't that _Naruto's _last name? "What do you mean by that?" Gaara demanded. "What do the Uzumaki have to do with you?"

"**Nothing, fortunately for me. If they'd sealed me up, I wouldn't ever have a chance at freedom. But with these pathetic chains… soon enough.**" Shukaku's face twisted into what looked like a grin, and Gaara found himself _very_ afraid. Was this what others saw when they looked at him? Was this what he unleashed when he allowed Shukaku's influence to run rampant?

Suddenly his childhood made a bit more sense.

But Gaara steeled himself, as he remembered something Sakura had asked him during their time at Suna. Could he communicate with the beast? He'd been able to before, but never like this, not face to face. Something had changed.

Something about his meditation today had given him some sort of telepathy, and as terrified as he felt… wouldn't it be a waste not to use this opportunity?

So Gaara sat down, cross-legged in front of the beast, and decided it was time to have a talk. (He'd felt safe enough in that guard tower, and if anyone did approach him, his sands would keep him safe.)

"Why were you sealed away to begin with? Have you always hated humans?"

"**Humans? Always.**" Shukaku seemed to hiss at the mere mention of humans. "**Always greedy, always selfish, always fighting, always killing. A worthless, useless species only good for war.** **They sealed me away because they envied my power. I had lived in peace for generations before your ancestors grew so power hungry!**"

Gaara could scarcely believe that claim. Shukaku, living in peace? That was as likely as the villages uniting together. Shukaku wasn't peaceful, he was a killer too.

But, perhaps…

"Violence… begets violence?"

"**There's no other way to communicate to you people. No logic or reason that will hold back humanity's desire to dominate all life. It is bred into your bones. There will only be peace once your kind lies dead.**" Shukaku suddenly leaned back, rolling until head rested against the sandy floor. The chains did not restrain him much, Gaara noted, if he could move so freely. "**I admit, it's become a bit of a game. How long can their pitiful seals last before I finally break free? How long will my new host last before he sees the truth of the world? You broke rather easily, brat, but now you insist on putting yourself back together.**"

Gaara looked away, for the first time feeling shame at Shukaku's accusation. He'd been… A monster, yes. But he'd changed… and shouldn't Shukaku want that?

"I've changed." He replied. "So… shouldn't humanity be able to change as well? If I can put myself together, then we can work on each other, piece by piece. We can stop the killing."

"**And I'm a monkey's uncle.**" Shukaku spat onto the ground, causing the sands to writhe and shift temporarily. "**There's always someone like you and her. People who want to change things. They die like everyone else.**"

Everyone...else?

"You speak as though you have regrets."

Shukaku was unusually silent, and Gaara felt as though he'd hit some sort of nail on the head. He had to admit to his own curiosity; what sort of regrets would, _could_ this murderous monster carry?

Gaara blinked, and he was back in the guard tower, alone. He couldn't help but frown at the realization that, wherever he'd been (and however), he'd been 'kicked out'.

And Shukaku called _him_ the brat.

It wasn't a bad thing to have regrets, Gaara was coming to realize. Regret allowed one to understand one's one failures and move forward from them. Gaara had not felt regret before recently, but now...far more. Regret for those he had killed so heartlessly. Regret for the life he had wasted until now. But this regret had brought him here. This regret, this knowledge, it all had changed him. That was worth holding onto, no matter what Shukaku whispered in his ear.

He didn't have to be a killer. And he wouldn't be, not anymore.

Gaara stole a glance back at the guard he'd knocked out.

...he was pretty sure the guard was still breathing.

About an hour later, he caught a glimpse of a small group making their way to the fortress, and at the head of said group was the man who had to be Hiroshi. Gaara naturally couldn't get a proper glimpse from so far away...but he had his tricks for that.

He focused his chakra, reaching for his eye and connecting the signals of his optic nerve to the chakra that naturally flowed through his sand. The sand coalesced to form a small eye, and with further concentration, his vision connected. Seeing through his sand had always been a useful trick, and now he could use it to his advantage. Nobody would be looking out for a small ball of sand following them around.

The sand-eye floated down to the base of the fortress, subtly weaving in between the legs of the walking men. From here, he had full view of Hiroshi and his subordinates, but unfortunately no sound. (Gaara briefly considered trying to invent a 'sand-ear' jutsu, but obviously now wasn't the time to waste doing so.) There was a lot that could be gained with just vision regardless. As his eye followed Hiroshi into the fortress, he was getting a prime view of not only what the fortress looked like from within, but how well guarded it was, _and_ the rooms where Hiroshi spent the most time in.

Gaara heard a small groan from behind him. With his unconnected eye, he squinted behind him. Ah...the guard was alive after all. ...and now he had to knock him out again.

For perhaps the first time in years, Gaara felt pity for the man as he hit him again with his sand. Getting knocked out twice wouldn't feel good later.

He refocused his vision to his sand-eye, and from there, it was just a matter of waiting and following. Hiroshi seemed...angry about something. As Gaara looked around, he caught sight of a familiar face. That was the shinobi Sakura had fought earlier, the one that she'd let live. The man looked terrified as Hiroshi berated him, no doubt over the loss of the other shinobi Sakura had faced. Bored, Gaara allowed himself to start taking in the faces of the other men and women in the room, as well as what weapons they were carrying. Standard gear, by the look of things, nothing too strange, which meant likely nothing he and Sakura couldn't handle. Plus, if Sakura managed to turn some of the shinobi to their side, even easi-

Gaara froze as his eye landed on Hiroshi yet again. The man had turned his anger onto the surviving shinobi, and in his rage was demonstrating a jutsu that gave Gaara pause. The man was lifting a kunai into the air without lifting a finger.

Was he doing so with his chakra alone? Even considering that made Gaara hesitate. Kankuro lifted puppets with chakra strings, but those were still somewhat visible if you knew where to look. Gaara didn't see anything attached to the kunai, which meant either the man was telepathic, or…

Well, there was another option. The Magnet Release technique. But that technique had been unique to very, _very_ few members of Sunagakure, his father being one of them. Magnet Release was a kekkei genkai, something you had to be born with the ability to use. But Gaara didn't know of any other technique that could simply cause metal weapons to lift themselves in such a deliberate manner, especially not a technique that could-

Hiroshi's kunai suddenly flew forward, embedding itself into the forehead of the quivering shinob. Gaara didn't so much as flinch; death, he was used to, though he felt pity once again for the shinobi who'd gotten put into such a situation simply because Sakura's conscience had gotten in his way. What was more troubling was the realization that Hiroshi had access to a such a unique skill.

Gaara disconnected himself from his sand-eye, dispersing the chakra and focusing back on his current position. He had a visual blueprint of the fortress, and he had the new knowledge regarding Hiroshi. Knowledge that was...worrying.

His father had perfected the Magnet Release technique in order to restrain Shukaku whenever he had gotten out of hand. If Gaara went up against someone else who wielded that technique...well, his father had also specifically had to use gold in order to counter Gaara's sand, but who knew what other tricks Hiroshi had up his sleeve? If they were to approach this man out of haste, it could end badly.

_Pathetic. That fool of a Kazekage only managed to restrain me because you were weak. _

Ah, Shukaku was back to talking again. How unfortunate.

_Feh. If you let me loose, that ant of a man wouldn't be any trouble for you and your precious _Sakura_. _

Gaara quieted his thoughts as he slowly made his way down from the fortress. Speaking of Sakura, he needed to report. And he _definitely_ didn't have any plans to let Shukaku free anytime soon. If this Hiroshi could wield Magnet Release with any degree of skill, they'd just have to find a way around it. Perhaps Sakura could think of something. She'd certainly been creative enough with her bombs before.

_So now you're letting the girl fight for you too, huh? How soft have you gotten, brat?_

Gaara clenched a fist as he ran towards the rendezvous. He wasn't soft. Not for this. He'd show Shukaku. He'd show everyone back home how he'd changed. One day, he'd even be able to-

_Oh for fuck's sake, if you don't stop that sappy crap, I'm going to have a hernia. _

Gaara smiled, an idea suddenly forming in his mind.

Shukaku thought he was sappy _now_? He was just getting started. He could allow himself to linger on Naruto and his lessons of fr-

_OH COME _ON_!_

Or...he could stop thinking about the sappy stuff. But that would be contingent on one thing. That would be contingent on Shukaku being a bit more forthcoming about lending a hand to himself and Sakura. That would be contingent on cooperation.

_...I changed my mind. Clearly you're still as cold-hearted as before. _

For the first time in longer than he could remember, Gaara felt the urge to laugh.


	15. Chapter 15

Sakura needed time to think.

Well, if she was going to be picky, she needed about double the number of people, triple the amount of prep hours, and maybe quadruple the amount of paper bombs. If she had _that_, taking down the fortress would be easy, no matter how tough Hiroshi or his shinob were.

What Sakura did have, and this was mostly tentatively, was about thirty shinobi who were willing to turn against Hiroshi. There were about triple that number who wouldn't interfere, but didn't want to risk getting involved, on the chance of failure. The ones willing to help her had also been willing to share their tools, but what they had was meager. It was clearly a 'village' that hadn't had long to build up, and due to its remote location, that made it harder to gain supplies to begin with.

There was a small part of her that considered sending some sort of message to Sunagakure about the state of affairs at their northern borders, but that would tip off the village to her and Gaara's location, which spelled nothing but disaster for the two of them. It wasn't just herself she had to look out for now, but Gaara as well, who'd felt so little for his home village that he hadn't thought twice about leaving it. She couldn't bear to see him dragged back. And, obviously, she wasn't exactly keen on Suna murdering her for running off with their Jinchuuriki. Konoha was out too; they were Suna's allies, but she was on the run from _them_ too, and Sakura couldn't help but wonder sometimes if, for this exact reason, it would have been better if she hadn't started this journey to begin with.

She was afraid of Hiroshi. When Gaara had mentioned that the shinobi had used a kekkei genkai, she immediately felt her heart freeze inside her chest. When she thought of kekkei genkai, she thought of shinobi like Sasuke, with his Sharingan. She thought of Haku from the Land of Waves, of his unbreakable ice mirrors and imperceptible speed. She thought of the Byakugan and Neji Hyuuga, and how it looked as though he might kill Naruto in the chuunin exams before Naruto had suddenly summoned up…

(Well, it had been energy from the Nine-Tailed Fox, now that Sakura had thought about it, though it hadn't crossed her mind at the time.)

Regardless, Naruto had only just managed to beat Neji, Haku had beaten her team near to death, and Sasuke, of course, was on an entirely different level than anyone she knew. So even just the thought of a kekkei genkai was enough to make her shiver. It did help that Gaara seemed to have some familiarity with the mechanics of the Magnet Release, but even so, this was going to be an opponent that she wasn't sure Gaara and her could take on her own, even if the shinobi aiding her managed to distract all of Hiroshi's bodyguards in the fortress.

But Sakura had something that few shinobi had when pitted up against a formidable foe, and that was time to plan. Her improvised jutsu and attacks against Hiroshi's minions had worked surprisingly better than she'd hoped, so Sakura hoped to be able to keep that creative energy flowing and come up with some ideas that no shinobi would be able to see coming.

So Sakura thought, and using the map of the fortress Gaara had drawn up for her (and the intel on the shinobi that he had seen inside), Sakura began to _plan_, because damn it all, her mind was her best quality and she was going to _use_ it.

Unless some of those inside the fortress had a change of heart, there were going to be about fifty enemies between her and Hiroshi. That was almost two against one, which weren't good odds to begin with. Even if Sakura could find a way to thin the herd prior, or get more shinobi on her side, even _one on one_ odds weren't particularly great, especially since Sakura was fairly certain that Hiroshi would want to keep the strongest shinobi he had close to him.

There was only one smart approach to dealing with this fortress, and that was a stealth approach, in the hope that they could thin the enemy numbers before it escalated into an all out brawl.

Sakura had the thought enter her mind that Gaara was probably capable of doing this himself. He'd snuck into the fortress without being spotted at _all_, but he'd had to knock a guard unconscious to do it, which mean the enemy knew they were capable of breaching the defenses and had likely upped security as a result. But even _with_ upped defenses, Gaara was a one man killing machine with nigh unbreakable defensive skills.

But...allowing Gaara to go on a killing spree was exactly what Sakura could no longer bring herself to do. Gaara didn't _want_ to be a killer, and letting him go into the fortress and take it down by sheer brute strength would be proving Shukaku right. (And there was certainly no allowing for _that_ in her plans.) Plus, Sakura wasn't exactly keen on killing again either. When she closed her eyes, she still saw the burn marks on her enemy's face. (Still smelled the scent of burning flesh.)

So, not only did Sakura desire a stealthy approach, she desired a _non-lethal_ one, which made things considerably more difficult. She wasn't naive enough to think that Hiroshi could be persuaded out of his power, (she just didn't want to have to think about that inevitable fight yet), but the other shinobi under him were valuable lives that Sakura didn't want to waste.

Those willing to assist her hadn't seen things that way at first, but Sakura had come up with the clever excuse that the more shinobi they left alive, the safer their families would be from bandits and thugs that inevitably preyed upon small towns like these. Their ultimate goal would be to take down Hiroshi, come up with a better way of governing themselves that didn't involve child soldiers, and leave the town's society as intact as possible. Minimal loss of life. Maximum effect.

Sakura wished she had Ino here. Her old friend's family owned a flower shop, which served a double purpose: most of Konoha's poisons and healing herbs were grown by the Yamanaka family, and Ino had known better than anyone how to make smokes that would leave a person unconscious. Gaara mentioned, upon hearing this lament, that he had some rudimentary poison knowledge. (Something many Suna shinobi had specialized in, by the sound of things) However, most of what Gaara knew of was lethal, which wouldn't do.

That left Sakura with two options. One: hope that her small army of shinobi were skilled enough to stealthily take down fifty men without killing them. Two: come up with a jutsu that was capable of imprisoning an enemy long enough for her crew to get to Hiroshi. Of course, she had to keep enough of a reserve to challenge Hiroshi when she got to him, so logically her plan would have to rely on an even mix of both options.

Furthermore, her earth jutsu only worked when there was ground available to use beneath her; she would be near useless against any enemies on the higher floors, and she'd have to hope beyond hope that she could corner Hiroshi on the ground floor, or else her starting strategy would have to involve beating him down _into_ the ground floor.

It was about an hour into her thinking when Sakura came up with what she would essentially call a 'dick move'.

Gaara had mentioned in his telling of the fortress' layout that there was some sort of mess hall in which most of the shinobi took their meals. Hiroshi, of course, wouldn't sink low enough to eat with his underlings, which meant that he likely took meals in his personal chambers. If her army waited until, say, dinner time to begin, they could ensure that the majority of Hiroshi's army were in one place.

The mess hall was on the ground floor. There were two exits, short of windows. Though the majority of her allies were wind-style users, there were a few earth style users, and they were more than happy to teach each other a basic earthen wall technique. (Something Sakura might conveniently sit on herself, if they let her. New techniques meant she'd be less of a burden.) If they positioned themselves accordingly, and Sakura had to calculate it based on the dimensions of the walls that the earth users were able to produce, they could put up walls at both the doors and the windows in order to trap the eating shinobi inside and ensure they would be unable to interfere with the coming battle.

Sakura calculated that at least twenty shinobi would need to stay in the area to do this, and to keep rebuilding the walls as the enemy inevitably tried to tear them down. That left her with ten shinobi and Gaara.

Her hope was that she could trap at least forty of the enemy this way, leaving them in a ten versus ten scenario, which was better odds than before. Gaara alone could probably deal with this many enemies on his own, and at this point even if there were some accidental deaths, it would be far fewer than if Sakura had encouraged an all out brawl. And once those shinobi were dealt with, that left her, Gaara, and however many of her own had survived against Hiroshi.

Even if just _one_ of the ten allies had survived, that was three on one, and even against a shinobi with a kekkei genkai, those had to be good odds...right? At the very least, Sakura admitted to herself, it was a fairly solid plan.

From there, get Hiroshi to the ground if he wasn't, and then take him out. After that, convince the surviving enemy to surrender, set up new leadership, and…

And Sakura would have successfully staged a revolution.

Well, fuck, when she put it like that, the task seemed _way_ more daunting.

Gaara seemed apathetic to the realization, which was both typical and comforting. Nothing seemed to phase the boy, and Sakura was beginning to realize that she could not only rely on that, but _liked_ being able to rely on that. He was much like Sasuke when it came to facing down an enemy. He wasn't scared, simply _strong_. And if Gaara was willing to stand at her side, well, maybe Sakura _could_ try her hand at starting a revolution.

If she could do this, she told herself, just maybe she'd have a chance against someone from Akatsuki.

* * *

It took about a week to prepare, given that a couple dozen shinobi had to learn a new technique that was very much 'not in their element', but their small group found a surprising source of help from none other than Shukaku. Gaara, it seemed, had bullied the beast into providing information. (Sakura would have _loved_ to have heard that conversation firsthand.) Though the beast was bratty about it, he _did_ have centuries of knowledge on earth techniques, and with Gaara as his spokesperson, gave tips to Sakura about how to better pulled the earth into the wall she desired. Earth was a dense element, he explained, and the seemingly impossible task of a shinobi was to first make it soft enough to mold, and then make it hard enough to withstand damage. It required chakra control and a strong enough mind to picture exactly what needed to happen.

Something Sakura realized she was pretty darn good at.

She in turn passed on the tips to her allies, and as the week reached its end, she was confident that they could at least keep the enemy at bay for a while, even if it wasn't forever. Long enough, she hoped, to get Hiroshi into a corner at least.

They scheduled a date for the attack, and Sakura spent her last day of preparation stocking up on paper bombs and sharpening her tools. She went over the plan, and the layout of the fortress, over and over again in her mind until she was certain she wouldn't forget it. She'd know the lay of the land better than Hiroshi himself, damn it all, and she knew, she just _knew_ that would have to come to her advantage somehow.

Her plan wasn't perfect, but it was unexpected and easy enough to execute. All that was left was the doing of it.

* * *

Sometimes a plan went just a little bit _too_ well.

Sakura should have known that something bad was on the horizon when her men had managed to trap an amazing forty-three of the enemy within the mess hall. She should have known something bad was coming when the remaining seven men were taken down with only two casualties on her side. She should have known that something was undeniably _up_ when they walked into Hiroshi's room (second floor, east side of the fortress) and the man had what looked to be a pile of two hundred weapons at his feet.

She _definitely_ knew that shit was about to get even worse when all two hundred of the weapons suddenly levitated into the air and pointed at her small team.

"You're bold. I'll give you that." Hiroshi spoke. "It's unfortunate you've chosen this path. Now I have no choice but to kill you."

Sakura didn't even have time to blink before the weapons shot at her team. She heard the sound of blades tearing flesh, and she heard the sound of rushing sand.

When her thoughts caught up with her, all of her allies had been impaled on the wall behind her. In front of her, Gaara's sand had rushed forward, protecting both him and her from harm. If not for Gaara, she'd have died instantly. She didn't stand a chance against this shinobi on her own, and even with Gaara, Sakura was beginning to realize that it might be a miracle for them to get out of this alive.

Especially when she saw, out of the corners of her eyes, the weapons behind her begin to lift and move once again.

_...fuck._


	16. Failures (Intermission Part Three)

The sun began to set, and Kakashi Hatake prepared to depart on the most important mission of his life.

To the southwest was the town of Sunagakure, and an (admittedly impressed) Kakashi had taken nearly a day to be able to track down that it was southwest that his young student had gone. But it had taken even longer to prepare himself for this journey, and the more he lingered on the previous events of the day, the more worry began to settle inside him.

His memories lingered on the hardened face of the Princess Tsunade, his Hokage and commander, troubled by more than just his wayward students as he'd made his way into her office. Though usually she was bogged down by paperwork, she had instead taken to staring out her window to gaze over the village, turning only when Kakashi had closed the door behind him.

"Lady Tsunade, I'm afraid my student has deceived us." He began. "I've tracked down her scent, and it seems as though she's-"

Tsunade held up a hand, and Kakashi quieted. He knew better than to speak out of turn.

"Orochimaru has hideouts everywhere, no doubt also in the Wind Country, given how he turned Suna against us."

Kakashi's eye widened. So Tsunade had learned Sakura's true course as well?

"But that's not the direction _Sasuke_ went, she would have taken the most direct path she knew!"

"Kakashi, there is no point to further discussion. Shinobi have already been sent to recover Ms. Haruno." Tsunade retorted, sitting down on her desk and pulling open a drawer. "She is no Uchiha, not flanked by Orochimaru's chosen. She'll be brought back to us quickly." She pulled out a small, tightly wrapped scroll before placing it on her desk. "I have more pressing matters for you to deal with anyway."

"Forgive me, Lady Tsunade, but I will not be taking any further missions until my student has been returned home."

"Then you will be strung up for treason, Kakashi." Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she stared the jounin down. "And you will not be much help to your student that way. This mission is extremely important, Kakashi, and I think you'll find it more beneficial to your own goals than you might think."

Kakashi thought of arguing, but even he knew better than that. Tsunade seemed to have some sort of plan in mind, so instead he forced himself to take the scroll Tsunade had put forward for him. He made to open it, but Tsunade halted him.

"Kakashi...this is an S-ranked mission. Do not open that scroll here. Ensure your complete privacy before reading it."

S-ranked? And how on earth would that have anything to do with Sakura?

"Fine." Kakashi agreed. "But if I feel that this _isn't_ beneficial to my student…"

"Then you may come speak with me again."

Kakashi knew several places that he could reliably trust to be out of the range of most people, and even fewer where he could reliably avoid the eye of most shinobi. He wasted no time heading to the closest one. Every moment he wasted on this 'mission' was a moment wasted retrieving Sakura, and he had very little of those left to lose.

Eventually, he reached the spot: a small cave within the Hokage Rock that had been shown to him by the Fourth Hokage upon his chuunin promotion. Within, Kakashi allowed himself to settle, using his Sharingan eye to check for anyone nearby before unraveling the small scroll in front of him. Within, he saw Tsunade's handwriting.

_Kakashi,_

_I have been investigating into recent events in the village that have happened since my leaving and have come across information that has disturbed and troubled me. I apologize for being unable to speak with you directly, but I am now aware of the existence of those within our own village who are listening in on my every word and spying for the gain of another within the village. You were Anbu once, and no doubt aware of the elite branch of Root within Anbu, led by our own Danzo. It was Danzo himself who insisted on sending members of Root after your student, Sakura, and I have reason to believe it is not because he cares for the girl's wellbeing. Danzo has always been unnaturally obsessed with the Uchiha, to the point of my raised suspicions. It is possible that he hopes the girl will lead his Root shinobi straight to Sasuke, and from there...I am not sure what. _

_Regardless of whether or not Sakura intends to go to Sasuke, this provides us with a unique opportunity. Even as Hokage, Danzo remains secretive to me, and his Root shinobi even more so. Your mission is to follow Sakura, as you intend, but also to find and interrogate any Root shinobi you find and determine the true nature of their own investigations. Any information about Danzo and Root must be retrieved at all costs, for the protection of your students, and potentially this village. _

_Root's actions run deeper than I care to admit. With Jiraiya gone, there are few I can trust with this information. You were Minato's most prized student, and mentor to these children, so I have chosen to leave my trust with you. _

_This S-ranked mission will be completed upon Sakura's return to this village. Pack heavy. _

Kakashi had packed very heavy. Food and rations for a couple weeks, sharpened tools, and Tsunade's scroll burned to ash, beyond any repair. Sakura was being followed by Root. That alone was worrying enough. Tsunade had not been aware, it seemed, of Kakashi's past dealings with Root, nor that Kakashi had worked directly under Danzo himself for a time.

But the Hokage had been right in her placement of trust. Kakashi, perhaps, knew Danzo better than anyone. The man had once tried to orchestrate the assassination of the Third Hokage, among countless other questionable things, all in the name of the village. The worst part was that Kakashi couldn't necessarily fault the man's intent, but if he'd taken an interest in the Uchiha, in the power of the Sharingan…

Kakashi had turned against Root for a reason. And now it seemed as though he would be working against them yet again. But before he could leave, Kakashi had one more thing he had left to do.

With a quick prick of blood, Kakashi summoned one of his hounds, kneeling down to hand them a scroll that he had spent meticulously writing in the secrecy of the Hokage Rock cave. "Deliver this to Lady Tsunade. Ensure she opens it in privacy." He ordered. The dog ran off without further words.

Inside the scroll was a detailed account of Kakashi's dealings with Root, working under the Third Hokage, as well as his written acceptance of his new mission.

From here, there was nothing left to do but follow his original plan and find Sakura. Southwest, across the vast deserts that surrounded the Village Hidden in the Sands. Sakura wasn't headed to Orochimaru, of that Kakashi felt certain, so instead her intent was surely to go to Suna. But why there? What could she be looking for that she couldn't find in Konoha?

He'd find out once he found her, he supposed, but he had wasted enough time in his thoughts. With a chakra-enhanced pushed, he leaped from rooftop to rooftop, eventually soaring over the village walls in the direction of Suna.

_I've failed Sasuke and Naruto. But this time, Sakura, I _won't _fail you!_

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki was considered an idiot by most.

It was true that he was no battle genius like Sasuke, and definitely not intelligent like Sakura, but despite what others thought, he was in no way dense. Rather, his mind refused to focus on anything he didn't deem immediately important. Reading books was slow and tedious, so he'd never been able to do that, but he _had_ been training since he could hold a kunai in his hand, and on top of that, he had learned to figure out information in other ways.

Maybe it was the way that certain people looked at him all his life, or the hushed whispers in his presence, but Naruto knew when someone was talking secrets and he knew when those secrets involved him. When he was young, he had dismissed that knowledge. He hadn't cared what people whispered about, and he hadn't cared about secrets. But in the more recent past, especially knowing now about the Nine-Tailed Fox that had been sealed inside him, Naruto was beginning to think it might just be a good idea to pay attention when people were whispering about him after all.

So when he saw Jiraiya subtly whispering to one of Tsunade's slugs night after night, Naruto knew it had to be important, and he knew it had to, in some way or another, involve him. And this time, Naruto wasn't going to let secrets get thrown around so easily. Secrets had been kept from him since he was _born_, and he was starting to get more than a little sick of it. He hadn't come along with Jiraiya to be kept even more in the dark. He'd come to learn and grow and get strong enough to defeat Orochimaru _and_ Akatsuki, as well as ensure he would be strong enough to bring Sasuke back to his village one day.

So Naruto schemed.

It was something he was good at, scheming. He'd been pulling pranks for years, good enough pranks to fool the local chuunin and jounin alike, and his perverted sensei had been easy enough to get advantage of with the right disguises and words. All he had to do was wait for the opportune moment to both distract his sensei and get one of Tsunade's slugs alone.

The next night at the hot spring would suit well enough. Naruto prepared in advance by creating a Shadow Clone and having it wait just outside of the spring, beyond Jiraiya's view. He then left the clone with very specific instructions.

From there, he entered the hot spring with Jiraiya and put on the guise of attempting to perfect his wind chakra once again. Though he put in some effort into cutting his leaf, he kept an eye trained on the area around Jiraiya. Sure enough, after a time, a small slug scooted in Jiraiya's direction, and Naruto listened as they whispered to each other. Now was the time, and he hoped his clone was ready.

"Ah, oh my! This isn't the girl's hot spring, is it?"

His clone had appeared, using a henge jutsu to disguise himself as a young woman wrapped in a bath towel. His sensei was strong, but also easily distracted by the sight of a pretty woman, and tonight was no exception. Jiraiya's gaze immediately turned to his disguised clone, and Naruto didn't wait to hear what disgusting words would come out of the man's mouth. Instead, he moved, quick as a flash, and snatched Tsunade's slug off the ground. Once he was good and hidden in a nearby bush, he held the slug up to his face for a chat.

"Alright, slug, it's time to talk. What have you and the Pervy Sensei been talking about behind my back?"

"Naruto…" The slug spoke in a calming, feminine voice that held hints of distress. "If Lord Jiraiya has not deemed to share this information with you, then it is not for your ears."

"I didn't ask whether or not I was supposed to hear it. I asked what it was." Naruto demanded. "And we don't have much time before Jiraiya figures out what my clone is up to, so either you talk now or I start the threats."

"You don't scare me, Naruto."

"Oh really?" Naruto allowed a wicked grin to come to his face. "I've heard escargot is pretty good. Slugs and snails are almost the same thing, right? If you don't tell me what's up, maybe I'll start a nice little campfire and figure out what's so good about it myself…"

The slug let out a few squeaks of distress, and Naruto knew he had her in the palm of his hands. But for emphasis, he lifted the slug up and opened his mouth. "Bottoms up!"

"No, Naruto, no, no!" The slug writhed in his grip desperately. "I really can't tell you about these sorts of things, they're very much classified! But...I can tell you what to ask Jiraiya about! Ask him about Sakura!"

Sakura? Naruto dropped the slug in shock, and the slug quickly slithered away out of his reach. That didn't matter anymore, though, what could Sakura be up to that Tsunade and Jiraiya were keeping from him?

Naruto crawled out of the bush just in time to be confronted by the angry gaze of his mentor, who'd clearly figured out his little prank.

"Alright, Naruto, what are you up to back here?"

Naruto frowned, standing up to his full height and attempting to look as serious as possible. "I'll tell you when you tell me what's going on with Sakura."

For a brief moment, he saw Jiraiya's anger falter, and Naruto knew the slug had been right and he'd caught onto something.

"...get dressed, kid. I'll tell you at the inn."

Naruto was quick to throw on his clothes, but Jiraiya took longer, seeming to stall to the point where Naruto was beginning to worry that something _bad_ had happened to Sakura. When Jiraiya spoke, however, Naruto realized that it was much, _much_ worse than that.

Sakura had left the village. Sakura had left the village and, according to the note she'd left behind, gone to join Sasuke and Orochimaru.

Naruto's knuckles turned white as he gripped at his knees. He had not been gone from the village long, but apparently that had been long enough for Sakura to lose hope. (Or, had Sakura not had any hope left in him to begin with?) He'd _told_ Sakura that they would bring back Sasuke together, she just had to give him some time to train and get stronger…

And he'd left and now, so had Sakura.

If he had stayed behind in the village, if he had stayed with Sakura, would she have left? Could he have convinced her to stay? Could he have shown her that she didn't need to take on the burden alone, that Sasuke could be saved if they'd just worked together, gotten stronger together?

It was his fault, he realized, not just for Sakura, but for Sasuke as well. Time and time again he'd failed to understand the true feelings of the two closest to him, and now both of them had left Konoha behind. If he had been a little more understanding, a little less clumsy, a little more supportive, maybe they would have stayed. Maybe they could have remained Team Seven. But now…

Now there truly wasn't any Team Seven left.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Jiraiya said honestly. "I hadn't wanted to tell you because right now they're working on retrieving her. She could be back soon, she doesn't have Orochimaru's posse trailing around her-"

"It doesn't matter."

Naruto bit back tears, though it was becoming increasingly difficult. "It doesn't matter…" He continued. "Because she still wanted to leave. Even if you bring her back, it won't matter because right now nobody's there for her that understands, so she's just going to try and leave again the first chance she gets. It doesn't matter because I wasn't there to comfort her. I wasn't there to convince her to stay, and I'm the only one who can."

"Naruto…"

"I shouldn't have left Konoha!" Naruto suddenly yelled, standing up to face his sensei directly. "We could have stayed there and trained, and I could have been there for her!"

"You know why we can't stay there, Naruto." Jiraiya argued. "That's going to be the first place Akatsuki look for you, even if my sources say they aren't going to come for you yet, we never know when that might change."

"I don't care anymore. Let them come. I'd rather get captured then be out here away from my friends when they need me. I told Sakura a long time ago that I wasn't going to run away anymore, and I never go back on my word."

"This isn't just about _you_, kid, this is about the entire village! Potentially the entire shinobi world! You can't just act rashly with that fox inside you! If you get captured, then that power ends up in the hands of people like Itachi, and who knows what Akatsuki plan on doing with it!"

"And I said _let them come._"

Naruto felt a hot energy burning inside of him. The energy of the Nine-Tailed Fox. It seemed to boil and rise with his angry, molding with his own natural chakra. Fueling it. "Let them come." He repeated. "A teacher of mine told me that shinobi that those who abandon their comrades are the lowest of the low. Trash. I'm done running and I'm done leaving my friends behind."

He met Jiraiya's eyes, his heart filled with determination. "You're a pretty strong shinobi, right Pervy Sage? Strong enough to make Itachi and that shark guy run off when they saw you?"

"Naruto, I don't see what that has to do with-"

"So, if I can make it all the way back to the village without you catching me, that means I'll be strong enough to get away from Akatsuki if they come from me, yeah?"

Jiraiya froze as he processed Naruto's words. Exactly the moment Naruto had been hoping for. He let the Fox's chakra build inside him before pushing it downwards towards his legs. With a push, he launched himself towards the inn's window, throwing himself through it and into the brisk air of the night. He heard Jiraiya calling his name desperately, but he did not allow himself to stop.

Naruto had to admit that sometimes people were right. Sometimes he _could_ be an idiot. He'd been an idiot for leaving Sakura behind, an idiot for leaving the village behind. What sort of Hokage would he be if he couldn't keep his friends safe? What sort of Hokage would he be if he didn't even spend time in the village he wanted to leave one day? He wouldn't earn people's respect traipsing off after Jiraiya, even if Jiraiya had half a decent reputation behind him. If Jiraiya really wanted to train him, they'd train at the village. Naruto would be waiting there, hopefully for Sakura's return, and definitely so that none of his friends would ever feel abandoned again. Sakura, Sasuke, and all of the other Leaf genin that he had befriended…

No more leaving them behind. No more.

Naruto Uzumaki was coming home.


	17. Chapter 17

_She needed time to think!_

The weapons had already turned to point at her and Gaara, and Sakura's body couldn't _move_, couldn't react fast enough to _do_ something. Sand rushed quicker than her mind could process, blocking once, twice, three times, until it became an uncountable barrage of blade and earth. It was automatic, Sakura remembered, but only when it came to Gaara's own defense, which meant that Gaara was protecting her faster than she could blink and she couldn't _do_ anything.

And then, out of the corners of her eyes, she saw the sand begin to grow in volume around her, growing thicker and thicker until it became like a dome around them. Before Sakura could think on it any further, the world around her became pitch black. Around her, she heard distant thuds as Hiroshi's weapons threw themselves against Gaara's ultimate defense. A solid barrier of sand. Sakura had remembered seeing this from the outside during the chuunin exams, and knew that only something with the force of Sasuke's Chidori could penetrate it. (And Hiroshi couldn't have such a power, could he?)

But of course, she hadn't realized that the dome left the user in such darkness. They were on the second floor, which meant no earth beneath them to use, and without opening up the barrier, neither of them could attack from their position. They were defended, but...they couldn't do anything else.

Sakura forced herself to breathe.

"Well. Here we are."

The barrage of attacks seemed to quicken outside. Hiroshi was testing the dome's strength. Sakura heard a small rustle of movement next to her.

"What are you doing?"

"I can connect my optic nerve to my sand using my chakra. I can see outside, that way."

"...I can't even begin to tell you how weird that sounds."

But it was a useful weird skill, and Sakura realized that she too had a useful weird skill that could allow her to have a similar sort of 'view' of the battlefield. With a couple of hand signs, Sakura let out a sensing pulse to the area around them, noting with a small bit of glee that Gaara's sand dome didn't seem to block her. She pinpointed Hiroshi immediately, as well as confirmed that the rest of the fortress' inhabitants still appeared to be focused in one location. They wouldn't be interrupted anytime soon, which was probably a good thing. If any of the other shinobi came into this room now…

Sakura thought of the bodies Hiroshi had pinned to the walls and let out a small shudder.

"He's slowing down." Gaara commented, pulling Sakura from her thoughts. "I think he's realized he can't penetrate the sand with his weapons. But if he has experience with Magnet Release, he might be able to pull apart my sand anyway."

"Well isn't that just peachy?" Sakura pouted. But, for the moment, she had time to think.

She'd been called the smartest shinobi of her generation. She'd aced every tactics exam she'd been given at the academy. If she couldn't figure out how to handle this man, they were dead. (Or Gaara would be forced to summon up Shukaku's power, and...she'd probably end up dead anyway.)

If they wanted an edge, one thing had to happen. They needed to get themselves and Hiroshi down to the first floor so that they'd have access to earth. If they tried to flee outright, Sakura wasn't sure if Gaara's sand would be quick enough to protect them both, plus she risked leading Hiroshi to her comrades. (And Hiroshi potentially freeing his own men.) This meant that she had to bring the first floor to them, or rather, eliminate the second floor from existence. She'd brought plenty of paper bombs with her, and if she placed a good amount of them on the floor, it was likely she'd break the floor apart enough that they'd have no choice but to fall to the first.

Downside to this plan: she'd have to leave the safety of Gaara's dome, which essentially spelled certain doom for her. Even if Gaara took down the dome and focused on defending her as she ran, that left himself open, and Sakura didn't want to place bets on Gaara being able to protect her from the _hundreds of weapons currently in the room this man was a __**maniac**_.

What they needed was a way to temporarily disable Hiroshi's weapons, long enough for her to throw down enough paper bombs and take out the floor. Problem: the most obvious way of doing this was to take out Hiroshi, which wasn't happening easily enough for this current goal.

"Sakura." Gaara's voice sounded urgent in the darkness. "He's starting to pull against my sand."

"I'm _thinking_." Sakura hissed back, reaching into her pouch to ready her paper bombs. If she attached them to her kunai, she could throw them anywhere she needed in the room.

She had one idea, and she was pretty sure it would work, but if not...she was probably dead.

"I'm going to destroy the floor so that we'll be forced to fight on the ground floor." She began to explain her plan aloud. "I think I have enough paper bombs to do it, but I need a break from Hiroshi's blades long enough to throw them down around the room. What I need you to do is expand your dome out so that it pushes Hiroshi and all of his weapons against the walls."

"That'll make the sand thin." Gaara pointed out. "Hiroshi will be able to push out of that fairly quickly."

"All I need is enough time to throw." Sakura insisted. "Once I detonate them, I make my way back to you, and we get under the dome again. From there, we'll have ground beneath us and I'll be able to attack him while you defend."

"Okay. Just tell me when."

Sakura took a deep breath. She needed to be prepared to move quickly. She began to focus her chakra to her feet, hoping the boost would be enough to get the job done. Then, she held her hands at the ready.

"Now."

The sand around her suddenly pushed outwards with incredible speed, and just as Sakura thought, it pushed the weapons and Hiroshi back towards the walls of the room. She sprinted forward, throwing her first several bomb-wrapped kunai as she did. Then, she twisted around to throw more at the corners behind her. She made it down to her last two just as she saw Hiroshi burst free from Gaara's sand. She saw swords and shuriken begin to pull forth right as the last two flew from her fingertips. Hiroshi was aiming at her, and she only had seconds.

She brought her hands together to make the Snake sign, simultaneously pushing herself towards Gaara in the hopes that she would be quick enough.

The sound around her was deafened by the explosion that rocked the room. Her ears rang, and several bursts of wind and force blew her about like a ragdoll before the floor began to give out from under her. For a moment, all Sakura could do was allow herself to fall.

The room beneath them appeared to be a sitting room of some kind, with chairs, tables, and sofas decorating it. Sakura considered herself lucky that she landed on one of the sofas, something soft at least, and considered herself _doubly_ lucky when she saw Hiroshi land on one of the tables with a loud 'crack'. Though the blast had disoriented her, she still remembered the next step of the plan. _Get to Gaara_.

He'd landed on his feet, with the sand having shielded him from the negative effects of the blast. Sakura pushed herself to her feet, noticing that Hiroshi was quickly doing the same. _Not much time_. She forced chakra to her legs, leaping across the rubble in front of her, closer and closer and-

Pain.

Pain radiated up her shoulder as a kunai blade buried itself into her flesh. Sakura cried out, tripping and falling forward as she did, and then all at once the room went dark around her.

For a brief moment, Sakura thought she'd fallen unconscious. Only when she felt Gaara's hands on her did she realize that he'd pulled up his dome of sand again.

"Sakura, I...I wasn't…"

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck." Sakura yelled, another wave of pain shooting through her. "Fuck and _shit_."

"I'm so _sorry_."

Sakura gritted her teeth, trying to keep herself from a further outburst. By the sound of his breathing, it seemed like Gaara was panicking, and that was the _last_ thing she wanted.

"It's okay." She forced herself to say. "It's alright, it's just a kunai."

"You're _bleeding_."

"Yeah, that tends to happen when kunai are involved." Sakura mentally cursed again, reaching up to feel at the weapon. It was buried fairly deep, and if she left the safety of Gaara's dome, Hiroshi could like push it deeper. It was a bad idea to remove embedded weapons, but she'd have to if she wanted to face Hiroshi head on. _And boy did she __**really**_ _want to hurt that man now. _She reached out to touch Gaara's hand, guiding it to the handle. "I need you to pull this out."

"W-what?"

"Pull it _out_ or Hiroshi's just going to push it in further."

"Sakura-"

"It's _okay_, Gaara. I'll be okay." Sakura wasn't quite sure if she'd be okay; bleeding out wasn't high on her to do list but it looked like she might not have much choice. Still, Gaara was hesitating. "It's...not your fault." She continued, trying to calm him. "We didn't move fast enough. It happens. As long as we finish this, it won't have mattered, alright? You pull this out, I'll blast that mother _fucker_ to kingdom come, okay?"

There was silence. Then, with a quick pull, Gaara yanked the kunai from her shoulder. Another kind of pain, a different kind, shot through her, and Sakura knew she didn't have too much time.

"Now we need to bandage it." She used her good arm to reach for her pouch, shakily pulling out a roll of bandaging tape. "I can't do it myself, so you'll have to do it blind. Get it as tight as you can to make a tourniquet."

"I'm losing focus on the sand." Gaara replied, his hands shaky as he took hold of the tape.

"Then move _quickly_."

She heard the sound of the tape unraveling before feeling a painful pressure on her shoulder. Gaara was panicking, yes, but he at least had the clarity of mind to do a good wrap. After a few seconds, Sakura gingerly forced her arm to move. It was her non-dominant arm, which was the only plus side at the moment. Hopefully she wouldn't need to use it much.

"Alright." Sakura stood up, taking a breath before sending out another sensing pulse. Hiroshi was approximately ten feet away, and they were now on solid ground. Since he could use Magnet Release, she had to assume he could use earth-style jutsu too, which meant all three of them would now benefit from being on the ground floor.

"I want to test something out." Sakura decided. "Get your little optic-nerve sand thing going. I'm going to use my sensing to aim some attacks, and you let me know how accurate I am, alright?"

"Alright."

Sakura gave him the time he needed before sending out her pulse again. Hiroshi hadn't moved, the cocky bastard. He was about to figure out why _that_ was a bad idea. Sakura only wished she hadn't had to use all of her paper bombs on getting them to the ground floor; another Tunnel Bomb would have been ideal for a scenario like this. For now, she'd have to settle for her Reverse Tunneling to see if she could knock the man out.

She focused, picturing a tunnel coming outwards exactly ten feet away from her, and hopefully right beneath Hiroshi's feet. Then, she pictured filling it, before she reached down and poured her chakra into the earth.

Sakura heard Gaara wince, and she grinned.

"It hit?"

"Yeah."

"Where it counts?"

"Yeah."

"That's what he _gets_." Sakura let herself pump a fist into the air. The victory was short lived, however, as she suddenly felt the ground rumble beneath her feet. She and Gaara jumped, just in time as the earth beneath them suddenly shot upwards to form hardened spikes. As gravity kicked in, she felt Gaara's sand form beneath her feet, and suddenly the dome moved upwards into the air.

"I can't keep this up for long." Gaara admitted.

"I didn't think he'd consider using the earth beneath us like that, but I guess I gave him the idea, didn't I?" Sakura groaned. "We need to end this before he starts affecting your sand, and I've only got one thing left up my sleeve."

"What's that?"

"...I'm going to need to get close enough to punch him."

She could almost feel Gaara's judging gaze upon her. "Your final idea is just to punch him?"

"Well, hopefully not _just_ punch." Sakura admitted with a nervous chuckle. "I mean, if I do it right, he'll be unconscious, and that solves all our problems, right?" Besides, Naruto won all of _his_ battles with punches, so why couldn't she? Plus, she actually _did_ have an idea for giving her punch some extra...well_, punch_. But it would require manipulating earth chakra in a way she hadn't done before, all while using a minimal amount of hand-signs, and while dodging whatever Hiroshi had to throw her way.

But Gaara _did_ have access to the earth beneath them now, as well as his sand. Maybe now he'd have enough to defend both of them. Sakura just needed to dodge whatever Gaara missed and dodge it perfectly.

One shot. One chance to end it.

"Drop us to the ground and get ready. If you have the chance to take him down, take it, but if not, keep him off my back."

The sand lowered, and Sakura readied herself. She sent out another sensing pulse to confirm Hiroshi's location, turning to face the man just as Gaara's sand dispersed around them.

"Are you done hiding, little brats?" Hiroshi spoke, standing at the ready with several weapons around him. "You're going to pay for that potshot, girl."

Sakura didn't give him the privilege of a response. If he was talking, he was distracted. She shot forward at a sprint, hoping beyond hope that she and Gaara were fast enough to get her where she needed.

Weapons flew at her, still too fast for her eyes to follow. Burst after burst of sand blocked her from the weapons' paths, but before she could reach Hiroshi, the man summoned up a wall of earth to block her. Great, so now he was playing _their_ game, and that meant that Sakura would need to either break through the wall or go around. There was rubble in the way, but Sakura knew she didn't have the physical power to break solid earth, so around it was. Left or right? For a brief moment, she hesitated, and just as she shifted to head left, she felt pain as another kunai embedded itself into her right leg.

"Sakura!"

Gaara's cries kept her focus. It hurt, it hurt _bad_, but if she stopped it would only keep hurting. She looked back up just in time to see Gaara's sand fly at the earth wall in front of her. Hiroshi had hesitated after landing the hit, and Gaara had taken the opportunity to launch an attack of his own. Sand hit earth and dirt seemed to fly, but Sakura caught a glimpse of Hiroshi beyond the wall and knew that Gaara, somehow, had been stronger, and this was her only _chance_. Pain be damned, she had to _go_.

She ran, and as she did she briefly closed her eyes and focused on the chakra in her right hand.

There was earth chakra in the ground beneath her, and her own chakra that ran through her. What she needed to do was pull the two chakras together, and use the earth to envelop the chakra in her hand. All she had to go on was a single hand-sign from when her enemy had used this jutsu before, but if Shukaku and history were to be believed, hand-signs weren't necessary at all, just a focus, so a single hand-sign would have to be enough. She brought her two hands together into the sign of the tiger before thrusting her hand downwards towards the ground.

And she could _feel_ it, she could _feel_ the chakra in the ground beneath her, if only for a brief moment, and all she needed to do was _pull_.

Hiroshi was in front of her, wide open, and though he was frantically trying to make hand-signs of his own, Sakura knew she could make it to him in time if she just concentrated. She needed chakra for her hand, but she also needed chakra for her legs to keep up speed, and Kakashi had told her that her chakra control was impeccable which meant she _knew_ she had the capability to do this, to be fast enough, to be strong enough.

She thought of Sasuke, dashing forward with his Chidori to face down Gaara's ultimate defense. She thought of Naruto and Sasuke facing each other down, unyielding, hands aglow with chakra. She thought of Kakashi, facing down Zabuza, one of the strongest shinobi she'd ever faced.

This time it was her turn.

This time _she'd_ get to be strong.

By the time she got within range, pieces of earth had molded themselves around Sakura's fist in the form of a rock gauntlet. She pushed herself forward, ignoring the shooting pain in her leg, and ignoring the rock wall that Hiroshi was pulling into existence in a desperate attempt to keep her away. All that mattered was the moment. All that mattered was the hit.

She aimed for the face and her blow struck true, slamming against Hiroshi's jaw with enough force that she heard his bones audibly crack. The man went flying backwards, slamming against the nearby wall with the force of Sakura's hit, before slumping down to the ground.

Sakura landed and fell to her knee, her injured leg shaking with pain, but it didn't matter. She'd _landed_ it, _she'd landed it, she'd __**landed**_ _it! _She could do it, she could be like Naruto and Sasuke, she could-

Hiroshi groaned and moved. She'd hit him, but he wasn't unconscious.

_Fuck_.

His jaw, at the very least, looked broken, but Hiroshi pulled himself to his feet without much fuss. Her move certainly wasn't a Chidori, not something that could kill, and she'd been lucky enough to get that one hit in. What were the chances of her getting another hit in _now_? Hiroshi had to be in pain, though, so how much longer could he possibly drag the fight on?

For a brief moment, she and Hiroshi simply looked at each other. A brief reprieve for them, Sakura realized. He was injured, she was injured, they both could afford to rest for a second. But what was Gaara doing? Now was his chance, now he could-

"Holy _shit_, would you look at that pink bitch go? She's gonna take out your bounty before you get the chance, Kakuzu."

Sakura's heart froze in her chest. Someone else was here.

She turned to look behind her, and her breath hitched as she caught sight of black robes decorated with red clouds.

Akatsuki.


	18. Chapter 18

Each second that passed seemed to draw out to minutes as Sakura looked to the two men who had just arrived. It seemed impossible. Akatsuki, here, now? She'd built them up so much in her that they were almost like a fairytale nightmare, something that frightened her at night but had never had any _real_ chance of appearing. Certainly not so suddenly, certainly not right _here_, right _now_.

The one who had spoken was currently laughing. He carried an enormous weapon on his back, something that looked like a triple-bladed scythe. Monstrous and unwieldy looking. The man's hair was short and grey, slicked back, and the glitter of a necklace caught Sakura's attention. (A circle with an inverted triangle? She'd never seen such a symbol before.) The other man stood just behind the first, and had wrapped his face up with scarves and and a mask, to the point where Sakura couldn't notice anything discernable about him. (But there had been a name, Kakuzu, and part of her insisted that she had to remember the name.)

Black robes with red clouds. There was no doubting that these two belonged to Akatsuki, and Sakura's immediate thought was that, of course, they had to be here for Gaara. Without thinking, her hand moved to the kunai embedded in her thigh, and she pulled it out with a small wince. It was a weapon, and she could use it to defend Gaara, even if that was all she could do right now she had to do _something_.

"Just look at that guy! Broken jaw, looks like some busted ribs, and just look at the fuckin' room, man!" The gray-haired man stepped forward, and Sakura instinctively moved to stand between him and Gaara, kunai at the ready. The man did not draw his own weapon, however, merely looking even more excited. "And she's still got spunk on top of that! Say, would you be interested in converting to Jashinism?"

Sakura's mind blanked. Jashinism? What even _was_ that? And he was asking her to...convert?

"I know it might not look like it, but I'm a pretty religious guy." The man continued, seemingly oblivious to her confusion. "Part of doctrine insists we always look for potential converts. I could teach you all about Lord Jashin if you wanted."

"R-religion?" Sakura forced herself to speak, more flabbergasted than she wanted to be in such a situation. "Is now really the best time for that?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Is there a better time than now?"

Sakura looked over to Hiroshi, who looked just as baffled as she did, before turning back to the man. "Um...I mean. We were...we were fighting."

"Oh, yeah, I guess so, huh?" The man gave a small shrug. "Well, Kakuzu dragged me here to kill this man so, sorry, we're gonna have to take it from here. I don't want to have to deny someone a kill but...well, it's been way too damn long since I've had any sort of decent fight, you know?"

Sakura was now certain of one thing about this man: he was an absolute psychopath.

She was also now certain that, somehow, maybe by some miracle, they _weren't_ here after Gaara, but the instant they realized who he was, that would change. She glanced back to her partner, noting that he had let his sand fall to the ground. Good. The less clues there were to his identity, the better.

She looked back to the man in front of her, and all at once, three swords embedded themselves into the man's chest.

Hiroshi had used his Magnet Release again, quicker than Sakura could have reacted. She saw sand moving at her feet (Gaara had been ready to protect her, thank goodness), but none of the swords had come towards her. Hiroshi, it seemed, had been trying to catch these new men off guard...and succeeded? Had it really been that easy? If she'd known throwing a _kunai_ at an Akatsuki member had been all it took…

"Hey, that's really fucking rude, you know? We were in the middle of a goddamn conversation!"

And then the man was _talking_ like there weren't three swords sticking out of his chest. Sakura couldn't help but stare, open-mouthed, as she processed the fact that three blows, three _fatal_ blows that would have killed practically anyone she knew, hadn't seemed to _phase_ this man.

Sakura was now certain of another thing about this man: if he ever decided to become her foe, she was well and truly _screwed_.

(Which led Sakura to conclude, in the heat of the moment, that no matter how this situation resolved itself, she needed to _stay on this man's good side_.)

"I guess now would be a pretty good time to show you the power of god, huh?" The man looked back to Sakura, his grin having returned. "You've done a fairly good job bringing on the pain, but let me show you what _real_ pain looks like."

"Hidan."

The masked man finally spoke, his deep voice seeming to echo throughout the room and bring all attention to him. Sakura couldn't help but shiver. If the friendlier guy was _this_ powerful, how strong was the menacing one? _She was so out of her goddamn league._

"Remember not to damage the head." The man, Kakuzu, continued. "It's only worth the million ryo if he's recognizable."

"You and your damn money. I won't touch his fucking head." Hidan retorted with a roll of his eyes, not even flinching as Hiroshi put two more swords through him. "You know, money isn't worth shit in the afterlife."

"Good thing I don't plan on dying any time soon."

Sakura subtly moved a little closer to Gaara. These men were definitely some sort of insane. She flinched as she felt Gaara put a hand on her shoulder, but admittedly was grateful for his presence. More than anything, she wanted to just _run_, but…

But she couldn't now, could she? If they weren't Akatsuki's current target, then this was the perfect chance to gather information about the two members, which was _exactly_ what she had set off from Konoha to do. She already knew one thing about Akatsuki that her village definitely had not known before: one of them was seemingly immortal, and seemed to follow a religion called Jashinism. She had two names, Hidan and Kakuzu, and all she had to do was keep herself and Gaara alive long enough and…

And not only would she have defeated Hiroshi, she would have gained valuable information for herself, her village, and Naruto.

Sakura's fear seemed to ebb into the back of her mind in the face of her new goals, and she found a strange, new confidence growing inside of her.

"Hey!" She called out. "I thought you were going to show me what real pain looked like, not argue about money!"

Hidan and Kakuzu both looked to her, and if looks could have killed, Kakuzu would have ended her instantly. Hidan, however, seemed thrilled.

"I _like_ this one. Alright, squirt, I'll show you how it's done. Just you sit right there and watch the judgment of God in action!"

From there, several things happened in quick succession.

The first was that Hidan began to move his legs in a strange pattern. Sakura looked down just in time to notice that he was using his foot to manipulate the blood that had been dripping down from his wounds. He drew lines with the blood, one line, two, three, and then connected the lines by drawing a circle around the points. Sakura recognized the pattern as the same symbol that was hanging from the man's neck.

Important, Sakura's mind insisted. The symbol had importance.

Then, Hidan, drew his giant scythe from his back and turned to face Hiroshi.

The ensuing spat was short. Hiroshi had given up trying to put weapons into Hidan, and instead resorted to a slew of earth-style techniques in an attempt to bludgeon his opponent into submission. Hiroshi had slowed down, however, and every attempt to hit Hidan ended with failure as the man jumped and dodged his way closer.

Then, Hidan lashed out once with his scythe.

It wasn't a fatal wound. It wasn't even a major once. All Hidan had managed to do was nick Hiroshi, and from there Hidan back off until he was standing in the middle of his blood circle again. From there, Hidan positioned his blade so that he could run his tongue along the bloodied edge.

Sakura had to gag a little at that.

But her nausea was quickly forgotten as she watched Hidan's skin begin to blacken, until almost all of it had completely darkened. There were a few white markings on his face and hands, but otherwise it looked as though Hidan had become a completely different person.

"You've been cursed." He spoke to Hiroshi. "And now get ready to know God's wrath!"

Before Hiroshi could retaliate, Hidan reached into his coat and pulled forth a long, black spike. Then, to Sakura's shock, Hidan stabbed the spike directly into his leg.

On the other side of the room, Hiroshi buckled and fell to one knee, moaning in agony.

Sakura paled as she realized what had just happened.

Not only was this man immortal, any damage that was done to him was being done to Hiroshi. It was an ultimate weapon. Hiroshi couldn't attack. Fatal wounds would just lead to his own death, and if he tried to walk away, Hidan would just stab himself and end it in an instant. It was checkmate, and it was the most disturbed checkmate Sakura had ever seen in her life. Akatsuki was on an entirely different level of power than she'd realized.

Hiroshi seemed to have at least put together how well and truly screwed he was. But rather than run, the man had decided to put up a last ditch effort at a fight. He summoned forth a rather large blade into the air, then fired it at Hidan with ferocious speed. Hidan didn't bother dodging, (of _course_ he wouldn't), but instead of embedding itself, the blade went straight through Hidan's neck, causing his head to topple to the floor below.

_Would that do it? _Sakura thought to herself. Being decapitated was different than being _stabbed_, maybe this time things would be…

And there went Hiroshi's head, also rolling on the floor. The damn jutsu applied to _decapitation_ too?

"Ah, fuck, he just had to get impatient." The head on the floor, _somehow_, began to speak. (And Sakura questioned how a head without lungs attached could find the function to speak at all, but this jutsu was already ridiculous enough, what was one _more_ ridiculous aspect?) "I can't even enjoy the pain of the fucking death with my head off!"

"You should have been more careful." Kakuzu commented, walking calmly over to Hiroshi's corpse to pick up the fallen head. "But I'm grateful he made himself easy to carry." With that, Kakuzu began to walk back towards the entrance of the room, straight past the body of his fallen comrade.

"Hey, don't just walk off!" Hidan demanded. "Put my head back on, you ass!"

"You should learn from your mistakes." Kakuzu retorted. "I'll put it back on once I turn this in."

"Fuck you!"

Kakuzu didn't bother to respond further, turning around and leaving without another word.

Sakura still wasn't quite sure what in hell was going on, but Hiroshi was dead and Akatsuki hadn't seemed to realize that there was a Jinchuuriki standing right in front of them, so all in all, this was...a victory? But it didn't really _feel_ like a victory. It just felt...weird.

"Hey. Hey pinkie."

Sakura snapped back into focus. Hidan's head wasn't facing her, but clearly it was trying to still communicate.

"Sakura…" Gaara seemed anxious, and Sakura didn't blame him. She couldn't fathom how _he_ was reacting to all of this; she was barely keeping it together. But...this was an opportunity. An opportunity she had to take.

"I know." She answered him, reaching up to put a hand over his own on her shoulder. "It'll be okay."

"It'll be okay if you could just move my head over to my neck." Hidan added. "It'll take a while to reattach without Kakuzu's help but at least I'll be able to finish my prayers. Religion has rules, you know, help a guy out?"

She could try to kill him, Sakura thought to herself. Hidan's body hadn't moved at all since the decapitation, which meant that the head had to be attached for it to be a threat. And a head wasn't much threat at all, was it? She could...dump the head in a river. Maybe drowning would work. But seeing that the man had survived decapitation was enough to make her think that maybe there wasn't _anything_ that would work, nothing conventional anyway. She didn't know how Hidan's jutsu worked and there had to be some mechanic that she couldn't deduce by just watching alone.

But she could get information in other ways.

"Trust me." She whispered to Gaara, and without another word she went to Hidan's head and pushed down her revulsion long enough to pick it up and move it over to where his body lay.

"Ugh, _thank_ you." Hidan spoke as she pushed his neck up against the stump it had been cut from. (She ignored the disgusting noises the action produced..._fuck_ this was gross.) "Listen, it'll take me a little while to get through the rest of my prayers, but once I'm done and walking again, I'll tell you about Jashin, alright?"

"Alright." Sakura agreed.

"Good. Now leave me alone, I have prayers to start."

Sakura obliged, heading back to Gaara's side on shaky legs. It began to sink in, the two wounds she'd suffered, the amount of chakra she'd expended on the fight, as well as just the sheer exhaustion that fear and fight brought onto a body after a long period of time.

The last thing she remembered before passing out was Gaara's worried face, and the last thought that went through her mind was that the two of them had to be the luckiest people alive.

* * *

Sakura dreamed of Sasuke.

They were disjointed dreams at first. Memories of their first D-ranked missions together, simple missions that hadn't required much work, other than reigning in Naruto and keeping the two boys from spatting. They were happy dreams. Perhaps naively happy, but still...there was a certain sort of calmness that came from reliving those moments, a calmness she had not felt in..._months_, if she was to be honest with herself. And how could she be calm now? Not after all the three of them had been through together, not after Sasuke had…

And then the dream shifted, and she saw Sasuke with his back to her, his voice ringing in her ears.

"I'm not like the rest of you. We have different paths we must walk."

But...they hadn't been so different after all, had they? She'd left the village too, after everything, and Naruto before her. All three of them had left to gain something. Sasuke for power, Naruto for training, and her for…

Well, it had simply been information to start, but now there was so much _more_ to it, wasn't there? She hadn't just gained knowledge, she was gaining power too. Her dream changed, and she relived the thrill of pulling up the earth to her hand, of facing Hiroshi head on, only this time one punch was all that it took to make the man crumble away like sand. She felt _strong_, she was getting _stronger_, all because she'd made the decision to leave and never look back.

But it didn't feel _right_.

Not the leaving part, anyway, but how it felt to see Hiroshi crumble beneath her fist into nothingness. She remembered the first time she had seen Sasuke overcome by Orochimaru's curse mark in the Forest of Death, how _pleased_ he'd looked to be crushing his enemies beneath him, the sickening, crunching sound she'd heard as he'd broken the Sound shinobi's arms with a single pull. He hadn't been himself. He hadn't been _right_, but that was the power he'd been seeking out. The power to dominate his enemies.

That was the power Sakura had been instinctively been seeking, but as she continued to dream, continued to remember, she wondered if she was…

Wrong.

"You really are...annoying."

* * *

_Sasuke…_

* * *

Sakura awoke with a start, gasping as she sat up in the...bed? She had been in the fortress, fighting Hiroshi, and then Akatsuki had been there, and then…

She'd been unconscious. She groaned as she realized she'd passed out, of _course_ she'd passed out after all of that. She still wasn't as strong as Sasuke or Naruto if she couldn't handle one _stupid_ fight.

"Shukaku said you exhausted your chakra reserves."

Sakura flinched as she heard a voice next to her. Gaara, just Gaara. So he'd been the one to move her to wherever this was. It looked like an inn, which meant that, for the moment, there likely wasn't any danger.

"How long was I out?" She asked.

"Nine hours." Gaara answered. "I...tried to help." He looked down at his hand, a guilty expression on his face. "I wrapped up your leg."

"Oh?" Sakura had almost forgotten her wounds, though as she looked down at her leg she became aware of a dull throb both there and at her shoulder. It had been wrapped well enough, however. (She hadn't bled out, at the very least.) "Thanks." She gave Gaara her biggest grin. "I...guess I kind of passed out on you, huh? I'm really sorry."

"I should have been able to protect you." Gaara replied. "But I wasn't fast enough."

"I wasn't either. But I think if those two weirdos hadn't shown up, we would have still won that fight." One punch had broken Hiroshi's jaw, and the resulting slam against the wall had broken ribs. Hidan had said so himself. Few people could keep fighting well after sustaining that sort of damage, and if she'd gotten one hit on him at full strength, she could have gotten another...assuming she hadn't passed out from trying to pull off the earthen-fist move again. Chakra exhaustion, Gaara had said. She hadn't felt tired, not until that moment when Hidan had told her to leave. Adrenaline had probably kept her going, but that wasn't going to be good enough. She needed to improve her chakra reserves. She needed to-

Sakura took a breath. She was thinking too much. Right now, she needed to focus on right now. She was alive, Gaara was alive, Akatsuki hadn't taken them, but she was wounded and she'd been unable to protect Gaara until she was recovered. There was no point in thinking about training or…

Getting stronger.

She lingered on the dream and on her thoughts, slowly pulling her legs up to her chest. "How is everyone else doing? Everyone in the town?"

"There were six casualties outside of our group." Gaara answered. "But once that man walked out with Hiroshi's head, his men seemed to lose the will to resist. I think now the town is attempting to work out who will take charge, now that Hiroshi is dead."

"You mean, they still want to form a village separate from Sunagakure's control?" Sakura concluded. "I'd thought they'd want to return to how things used to be with Hiroshi gone."

But men came into power for a reason. Hiroshi was strong, but a united town could have stood against him and prevented him from taking power. People had wanted to follow him. People had wanted to split away from Sunagakure.

She'd helped take out a man who'd been abusing the people beneath him, but what if they elected someone just as bad as him? And if they did elect someone more suited to lead, did that mean she'd just aided a rebellion in Wind Country?

This wasn't like the Land of Waves. This wasn't like the chuunin exams. It wasn't just about being the strongest. Battles had consequences. Strength had consequences. She hadn't considered the possibility that Akatsuki might just _suddenly_ show up at her battle. She hadn't considered that her battle against Hiroshi might lead the rise of someone equally strong or terrible.

And, come to think of it, she doubted Sasuke or Naruto thought of those things either.

Well, maybe Sasuke had thought a _little_. He didn't seem to care about the future consequence of Orochimaru taking over his body, but there were other consequences that had followed his leaving. His retrieval squad had nearly died. Konoha had lost, in him, a valuable shinobi, the last of a clan. By going to Otogakure, by going to Orochimaru for his own pursuits, he had weakened the village of his birth, even if only by just a little bit.

Naruto as well, and even the sage Jiraiya who had taken him away from the village...he'd taken Naruto away to train him, and potentially to keep him safe from Akatsuki's prying eyes, but even that meant that Konoha was short another shinobi that could aid them in missions, in protecting the village.

And she…

She too, Sakura realized. She too had left without thinking of consequences. In the back of her mind she had realized she was acting rashly, acting just for herself and for the sake of her teammates, but even she hadn't _really_ thought about what her leaving meant for all of the people she'd left behind.

She had been selfish. Gaara had been selfish too. And Sasuke, and maybe, even if subconsciously, Naruto.

There was no undoing that she'd left. There was no undoing that she'd convinced Gaara to leave with her. And maybe she was still selfish, but she didn't _want_ to go back to the village. She hadn't learned anything being there, not compared to these few weeks she'd spent away. But just because she'd been selfish, and would continue to be selfish, didn't mean she couldn't still learn from her mistakes and help those she cared about. Not just Naruto and Sasuke, not just Gaara, but her entire village. Every village.

Hidan had promised to tell her everything about Jashin, and she was going to listen. If she could, she would pry every bit of information about Hidan and Akatsuki from the man that he had. And once that was done, she was going to find a way to send a message directly to Tsunade telling her everything that she'd learned.

She couldn't bring herself to return to Konoha, but she couldn't bring herself to abandon it either. She could be both, she decided. A missing-nin and an informant. An asset without tying herself to the mediocrity she would have resigned herself to by staying.

_We have different paths we must walk._

Sasuke had been right. Sakura had never been the type of person to seek out power for power's sake. She wasn't an avenger. She wasn't the one who would beat Sasuke to a pulp just to return him to the village. She was something different.

But that didn't mean she was weaker. That didn't mean she still couldn't become strong.

"Sakura?"

Startled from her thoughts, Sakura looked over to Gaara. She'd never seen so much worry from the boy before. It was...touching.

"I'm just thinking." She explained. "Thinking about what I'm doing out here. What I want to do. And I think I figured something out, I guess. Even if we were strong enough to defeat Hiroshi, that's not really the point, is it? You don't want to be a killer anymore, and I don't want to be that either. And I think...running in without thinking like Naruto and Sasuke do, that's just not going to work for me. So I think I'm going to start approaching things differently, that's all. I think the two of us can figure out a way to be strong and help others without being like everyone else."

"The two of us." Gaara looked downwards, smiling in a sheepish way. "Because we're friends."

"Not just friends. We're a team, right?"

"A team." Gaara nodded in agreement. "So where do we go from here?"

"Anywhere. Everywhere. We'll still keep following my travel plan from before, I think, but before that...well, I know it's dangerous, but I really want to hear what that Hidan guy has to say. The more we find out about our enemies, the better prepared we'll be. Plus, I don't think they recognized you're a Jinchuuriki."

"No, they didn't seem to."

"So I think if we just play it dumb, we might be able to get something good out of this." Sakura gingerly began to move her leg, wondering if she could even stand. "We can...call you by a different name so they don't connect you with any information they might already have on you. And assuming we get away with that without any trouble, we get the hell out of here so they can't find us again."

It was reckless, yes, but Sakura had goals and purposes that she needed to stick to. Gaara, thankfully, seemed simply happy to be along for the ride. Did he have goals of his own, she wondered? He wanted to protect her, that much she had deduced, but surely even he had something more he strived for?

She'd have to find out, she decided. But for now, her immediate objective was Hidan.

* * *

By the time the pain in her leg had subsided enough to walk, about a day had passed. Gaara had brought her food when she needed it, and several of the village shinobi had come by to thank her for helping put an end to Hiroshi. As the first day ended, a woman by the name of Satomi had been elected to run the village until they 'got things back together'. (Though Sakura was fairly certain the woman would probably stay in the position for good.) Satomi seemed decent enough. She had been one of the few to become immediately proficient in the Earth Wall technique, so she'd likely be strong enough to keep those who'd been loyal to Hiroshi in check. Sakura found herself liking her the more she spent time around her, not to mention that it was nice seeing a woman in charge. If this village did decide to permanently form as the Village Hidden in the Plains, and if Satomi was picked as its Kage, that would mean that two of the Kage in the world were women! Sakura was biased of course, but there had been very few women shinobi of note in her history books, which just meant...maybe some things were changing for the better.

On the second day, the village threw a small feast in celebration of their victory, as well as a memorial service for the thirteen shinobi that had passed. It was during the feast that Sakura saw Hidan again. His head had reattached, not showing any sign that it had been removed hours before, and the only indication that he had been in a battle at all were the cuts in his robe from where he'd been stabbed.

"Hey pinkie, I'm fuckin' starved." He announced, moving to sit down right next to her at her table. Sakura felt small grains of sand move across her skin as Gaara became protective, but for now, at least, Hidan didn't seem to be a threat. "You think they'll give me some food too? I'm the one who chopped that guy's head off, anyway."

"Um, yeah probably." Sakura gestured to the table. "It's all pick what you want anyway. Just grab a plate."

"_Fuuuuuuck _yes." Hidan immediately did so, piling his plate high with just about everything he could reach. In a strange way, the man sort of reminded her of Naruto. Boisterous, brash, definitely with eyes bigger than his stomach.

It was weird seeing a member of Akatsuki act so..._human_.

Sakura turned back to her own food, trying to remain calm and casual about the man next to her. Gaara was still on edge, she could practically feel it, but this was the opportunity she'd been looking for. Her chance for information. So she waited, waited until Hidan's plate was about halfway empty and he'd slowed down he eating, and then she made her move.

"So I think you promised me a talk about Jashin?"

"Mm?" Hidan turned to her, mouth full of food. After a moment, he quickly swallowed, an eager look appearing on his face. "You really wanna listen, huh? I don't blame you, after seeing Jashin's power up close. His will is _awesome_ isn't it?" He laughed, seemingly cheered just by talking about his god. Sakura supposed she couldn't blame him. (Not if one's god made you _invincible_.)

"I'll admit, you certainly showed some abilities that blew me away." Sakura answered. That, at least, was the honest truth. "So your god gave you those abilities, then? I don't really know that many religious shinobi. You'd think there'd be more, seeing what your god has done for you."

"Well, it's not quite as easy as believing." Hidan gave a small shrug. "I had to sacrifice a lot to gain Jashin's favor. His religion is pretty damn strict. Lots of prayers, devotionals, rituals, and...well, I've killed a _lot_ of people. You don't get Jashin's blessing overnight, you know. But hey, conversion is the first step."

"I guess that makes sense." Prayers? Devotionals? Well, it didn't _really_ make sense. If immortality was just a matter of devotion, _everyone_ would be doing it. There had to be more to it. Killing a lot of people...well, she supposed not _everyone_ could do that, but by that standard Gaara should have found immortality by now and she knew for certain that wasn't the case. Some combination of devotion and killing, and accepting the existence of..._god_? Sakura certainly wasn't religious, and she hadn't been lying when she said she didn't know anyone who was.

Well, that didn't mean she couldn't pretend, for information's sake.

"So how _does_ one convert?"

"I'm _so_ glad you asked." Hidan answered gleefully. "Well, true conversion requires years of learning from some of the elders, but you have to be accepted first. And acceptance requires reaching our church, which is a _long_ way from here. But you look like you've got enough spunk to find them. That Hiroshi guy was _so_ fucked up by the time I got to him, there really wasn't any pleasure in killing him at all."

"R-really? He didn't look that bad."

"Trust me, I could feel his pain. He was fucked. I'm almost sorry I had to deny you such a kill, but...well, I hadn't had a kill of my own in so damn long, I was sure Jashin would have been pissed if I hadn't jumped on it." Hidan shoveled another piece of food into his mouth as he talked, not even bothering to swallow as he continued. "Jashin demands nothing less than the total annihilation of one's foes. So as long as you keep that in mind, you'll always be following his will, alright?"

"Right." Sakura turned to her own food. (This man was _crazy_, this _religion_ was crazy, and here she was, about to dig deeper.) "But why would Jashin make it so that you have to harm yourself to harm others?"

"See, that's the crux of it." Hidan finally swallowed his food, now, for the first time, looking very serious. "Jashin is the Lord of Pain. Pain is something that all life forms experience in one way or another. Pain is what defines us as people. How can you possibly hope to understand someone fully until you understand the pains they've been through?"

Sakura blinked, and her mind seemed to freeze.

This...this, out of everything, made sense.

Hidan continued to lecture, but Sakura's mind had already begun to wander, wander to her dream, her time with Sasuke, her _failures_ with Sasuke. Sasuke had left because nobody in the village had understood him and what he had felt was necessary for him to do.

Sasuke had left because nobody had understood his _pain_.

And if she'd understood, if she'd been able to even glimpse a tiny piece of what he'd been through...would she have been able to stop him? Save him, even?

"So yeah, you can say that the only way to truly understand the consequences of killing a man is to experience his death right alongside him. You simultaneously experience the passion of an ultimate victory and the despair of an ultimate defeat. The experience is honestly pretty overwhelming, I can't even begin to describe it." Hidan hadn't stopped chatting, though it was only now that Sakura had pulled herself from her thoughts enough to tune in. "I know I'm rambling but there's just so _much_ to explain, and I-"

"I get it." Sakura spoke. "I think...I think I get it. You're saying Jashin wants us to understand each other on every level. Not just in happiness, but...in everything."

"You got it, pinkie."

"But then why completely destroy your foe? It seems a waste. You finally fully understand them, but then they're not around anymore. It seems like a contradiction." Sakura hadn't _really_ intended to engage in religious debate, but, well, here she went. "You comprehend them just to eliminate them?"

"You kill them to further your own understanding of life and death. Shinobi are killers, but how can you really understand the consequences of your actions unless you experience them firsthand? It's easy to be a passive player on the sidelines, you know. You can be an emotionless killing machine and never think twice about the lives you take, but for worshippers of Jashin, every life means something. Every foe is an intimate experience. You don't just kill for no reason like some mindless animal, you have to know, deep in your heart, that killing them is what you want to do. What you _have_ to do. And if your heart's only halfway in it, that's just a disrespect to your enemy. Jashinists don't half-ass anything. That's why it's taken me killing so many people to get to this point, to this reward. I understand death better than anybody, and don't you let that fucker Kakuzu tell you any different, alright?"

"Alright." Sakura's mind had started to go numb, processing all of this. She didn't agree with everything, not by a long shot, but still...some of it was…

She swallowed hard. Well, it wouldn't have been a very good conversion speech if it wasn't somewhat convincing, right? This Hidan was terrifying, definitely some sort of sado-masochist, but he'd worked his lecture out. She couldn't help but admire his conviction, and she couldn't help but regret that…

Well, they were enemies, even if he didn't know it. And now Sakura found herself hesitating even further. This wasn't just a man who was good at killing, he was a man who found _thrill_ in it. Regardless of how legitimate this Jashin was, Hidan was a force of nature, both in action and in speech.

She was _so_ up shit creek without a paddle, trying desperately to stay afloat. This was just one member of Akatsuki. _One member_. And it was all she could do to keep herself from _agreeing_ with some of his points.

"So...what do I have to do, to get accepted? Other than just getting to your church."

"Still interested in converting? Excellent, this goddamn trip to the middle of nowhere wasn't a fucking waste after all." Hidan began to fish around in the pouch at his hip, stopping only when he pulled out what looked to be another necklace. It was a thin black cord, and hanging off of it was a pendant with the exact same symbol that Hidan wore around his neck. "You gotta wear this, otherwise they're just gonna kill you on sight. Plus, you can start saying some prayers to Jashin with it, you know, get yourself in the habit. Remember everything I told you and look for this symbol when you reach Yugakure, alright? You'll make it as long as you remember." Sakura took the symbol, examining it as Hidan shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth.

A circle with an upside down triangle. A simple symbol, one she'd certainly never seen before now. She hesitantly put it around her neck, solely to please the murderer next to her. He seemed happy enough that she'd listened to the lecture, so maybe she could press a little more.

"So, are those the robes of your church? The red clouds."

"Oh, _fuck_ no, these damn robes are another thing I got dragged into by those sons of bitches." Hidan answered. "Can't really talk too much about that though, sorry. Honest to God, if you see anyone else from these robes, I'd stay clear, alright? There's some tough bastards involved in this and you're way too fuckin' fresh to deal with them."

"Right." Sakura nodded. Damn. He was smart enough to keep what he knew on the down low. "Got it. Yugakure for your church. Stay away from red clouds."

"Smart kid." Hidan suddenly reached out, and Sakura's hand had strayed towards the kunai at her belt before she realized that Hidan was just..._ruffling her hair_. The maniac. "I look forward to seeing you all initiated when I see you next, alright?"

"Alright, alright!" Sakura reached up to push away the man's hand, frowning. "I'll remember what you told me."

"Good. Well, I need to catch up with that motherfucker Kakuzu and give him a lecture. Tell these guys thanks for the food." With that, Hidan stood, initially looking like he was about to leave. But as he passed Sakura he stopped, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Oh, and by the way...there's been someone watching you this whole time, up in the trees. Might be a good someone to start learning Jashin's lessons on, hm?"

Sakura let out a small shiver. "Right. Thanks for the tip."

Hidan left without another word.

It took Sakura several minutes to calm down from the anxiety that had frozen up her body. Hidan was a terrifying bastard, someone had been _watching_ her this whole time, and poor Gaara looked as though he'd suffered several heart attacks just listening in on the conversation. She hadn't learned anything new about Akatsuki itself, but she'd learned _way_ more about Jashinism than she'd wanted to, and now she had a small lead. Yugakure.

She didn't know whether to feel satisfied or afraid, and in this particular case, well, maybe she'd just have to let herself be both.

"Gaara." She whispered.

"Yes?"

"There's a lot I need to process here, but before we do any of that…"

She sent out a small pulse of her sensing jutsu. There were shinobi everywhere, almost enough to distract her from anything strange, but with focus she realized that, behind her, up in the trees, _someone_ was lying in wait. Watching. Observing. And hiding their chakra so well that she almost missed it.

"We've got a job to do." Sakura finished. "Well, maybe like fifty jobs to do. But one that's a bit more pressing than the others."

Gaara smirked.

"When do we start?"


	19. Chapter 19

"I spy with my little eye, something that is..._green_."

Gaara looked over to her with a confused expression, and Sakura realized that, considering the boy's childhood, he might not have ever played silly games like I Spy. "It's for passing the time on the road." She explained. "I look around for something and I tell you what color it is, and you have to guess what it is I'm looking it."

Gaara's face wrinkled as he thought harder on this concept. "But Sakura...we're surrounded by nothing but grass."

"Makes it a challenge, doesn't it? Was I bold enough to choose the grass? Or is there something green that you missed?"

The real Gaara might not have spent so much time debating this, but, Sakura reminded herself, she was speaking with a sand clone, and unlike Naruto's clones (virtually indistinguishable from the original), Gaara's clones were a bit lacking in the thought department. But this was fine. She wasn't walking through acres of grass with a sand clone because she'd wanted intellectual stimulation. The clone was a distraction. Someone, according to a sadistic Akatsuki member, was following the two of them, and Sakura had more than confirmed it with several sensing pulses back in the Plains village. Neither she nor Gaara had any solid guesses as to who that someone could be, but what they had come up with was a rather simple plan to catch this watcher and figure things out straight up.

Once Sakura had fully recovered from her injuries fighting Hiroshi, the two of them solidified their plans to continue northward to Iwagakure, looking for other Jinchuuriki. They'd packed their things, and Sakura and a sand clone had left the inn, heading north.

The real Gaara, someone who Sakura knew from experience was almost impossible to detect when he was trying to be stealthy, stayed behind. And why would their attacker think anything of the situation. Hidan had whispered the revelation into Sakura's ear, and she'd kept her planning with Gaara down to the most careful whispers. Hopefully, their watcher wasn't aware that they knew of their existence, which meant they had no reason to believe that the Gaara walking next to Sakura wasn't a carefully crafted clone.

And all Sakura had to do was play casual while the _real_ Gaara located the watcher and caught them.

"Is it the grass?" Gaara's clone finally decided.

"Nope." Sakura said with a grin. "I bet you'll never guess it."

"Hm." Gaara's frustration was...somewhat adorable to watch. There was really only one other thing than the grass that was green out here, and Sakura was willing to bet the clone didn't think of it before the real Gaara did his job. She stretched, partly because she wanted to, and partly because stretching was a good way to conceal a quick hand-sign that would allow her to send out a sensing pulse. Sure enough, there were two chakra signatures behind her, one slightly closer than the other. Their watcher, and Gaara, catching up. Only a matter of time.

She readied herself, in case the watcher proved difficult. She'd sharpened her kunai and shuriken, but if there _was_ a spat, there was something else she was itching to try. She'd successfully managed to coat her fist in rock during her fight with Hiroshi, and the resulting punch had been _oh_ so satisfying. Sakura had decided relatively quickly that she was going to master that move, use it like second nature, improve upon it if she could. The Rock Fist was going to be _her_ Chidori. Only cooler. She'd find a way to make it cooler.

Sakura was startled by her thoughts by a small yelp of surprise, and the sound of rushing sand. She turned around just in time to see Gaara encasing a writhing _someone_ in a thick layer of sand. Well then. That had been..._way_ easier than expected.

But hell, she'd settle for an easy win at this point.

"Nice, Gaara!" She called out, rushing over to join him as Gaara's clone faded into the earth. The person entrapped in the sand had stopped struggling...or rather had lost the _ability_ to struggle, which was perfect. They couldn't use jutsu if they couldn't move their hands, right? Though Sakura _was_ actively learning to cast jutsu without hand signs. She drew a kunai, just in case. Better to be prepared.

The person was masked, she realized as she approached. Their hair was short and black, and anything else she could see (not covered in sand) was simple dark clothing, nothing special. Very ordinary. Only the mask really stood out, and Sakura got the feeling she'd seen a similar sort of mask before.

It came to her all at once, and she couldn't prevent herself from letting out an audible gasp as she put two and two together.

"You're an _Anbu_ agent!"

The Anbu was silent, staring at her through the mask with an almost cold indifference. Sakura knew that Anbu were elite shinobi, and having caught one so easily was enough to make her gleeful. She wasn't just getting stronger, she and Gaara were getting _smarter_. Not even an _Anbu_ had seen this coming.

But, perhaps the more important question, why was an Anbu agent following them in the first place?

"Can your sand disarm him?" She asked Gaara. "Take away his weapons, tools, anything he has on him? Or maybe you can just restrain him and I can do it."

Gaara opted for restraining, and once the Anbu'd had their arms tied behind their back with thick sand, Sakura began to rifle through the pouches on their belt. There were standard shinobi tools: kunai, shuriken, wire...but in even more abundance were what looked to be scrolls, ink pots, and brushes. It was clear that this shinobi was a specialist in information gathering, as a couple of the scrolls held detailed accounts of herself, Gaara, and the scenes that the Anbu had been witness to. She kept hold of those scrolls; no point in letting the Anbu send out anything else that could let others know of their location or plans. However, what was curious was that the majority of the Anbu's scrolls were blank, and there was at least a dozen of them. How much information had the Anbu hoped to gather? One of the scrolls, that had been tied to the shinobi's back, was almost three feet long. Was that one _really _for writing down information?

The Anbu only had one other noteworthy possession, and as Sakura took hold of it and began to flip it open, for the first time the shinobi began to struggle.

"Don't touch that." The Anbu warned.

"Well now I really wanna touch it." Sakura replied in turn, looking at the first couple pages. They were...drawings?

Yes, drawings. Dozens of them. The book seemed to tell two stores: one starting from the front and heading towards the middle, the other starting at the back and heading in reverse towards the middle. They were drawings of shinobi, one light haired, one dark, looking to be defeating various foes on various battlefields. The end, the middle of the book, perhaps when the two shinobi would have met, was completely blank. An unfinished story? How curious. Perhaps it was the Anbu's pet project, something to complete while waiting for something interesting to happen. She showed the book to Gaara, which only seemed to make the Anbu more on edge.

"Who are these shinobi? Did you make them up?" Sakura asked, flipping through the book a second time. "These drawings are actually really good."

"It's not important." The Anbu answered.

"Okay, well, sorry for looking through your personal stuff, but you _have_ been following us. We have every right to try and figure out why." She held onto the book. The Anbu seemed attached to it, and the logical part of her brain figured the Anbu might be willing to _cooperate_ for it. "So, are you going to tell us why you've followed two low rank missing-nin across the country to the northern border of Suna?"

The Anbu was silent. Sakura hadn't thought so.

Which was unfortunate, because Sakura really wasn't an 'interrogation' kind of person, and while she didn't have much doubt that Gaara could be intimidating when he wanted, he'd been trying to get away from that sort of attitude, so it was best not to encourage it. Which meant that unless they could convince the Anbu to talk, they wouldn't get much out of them.

Which was...fine, she supposed. She now knew that Konoha was interested enough in them to send Anbu, either because of the fact that somehow they'd caught wind that Gaara was with her, or because Konoha was still under the impression that she was headed to Sasuke and wanted to learn where the Uchiha's location was. It was either that or the very _very_ slim possibility that Konoha wanted to know what _she_ was up to, but Sakura wasn't quite at the mental point to convince herself that it was a _real_ possibility.

With the Anbu disarmed, and the fact that Gaara had so easily nabbed him, Sakura didn't feel too threatened. (And boy, what a weird feeling that was, not being threatened by a Konoha elite.) So she decided that maybe it was time to take a small gamble.

"I'm keeping all this." She told the Anbu, gesturing to the scrolls he had written on already. "But I'll let you have the other stuff back, and I'll even have Gaara let you go. But that's if you can meet one condition for me."

More silence. Good _god_, even Gaara was chattier than this once.

"It's nothing you probably wouldn't want to do anyway." Sakura admitted, taking one of the scrolls and grabbing a brush to write. "I want to send a message to the Hokage, and you'd probably have the best way of doing that. Either that, or I have to wait until we reach Iwa and hope they'll let us use an eagle or something." She began writing down everything she remembered of Hidan and Kakuzu, including physical descriptions, Hidan's disturbing jutsu, and the information on Jashin she'd been provided with.

(She was still wearing that necklace Hidan had given her. No reason not to, she figured, especially if they happened to run across another Jashinist in the future.)

"I think this would be considered S-ranked information?" She pondered aloud. "It's information she definitely needs to know. So, if you promise to send it her way, I'll let you go. And...I guess you'll probably still follow us, huh?" Which meant that the Anbu would just rewrite the scrolls Sakura had taken, still get the information out...and she didn't even know how much the Anbu had _already _sent, if anything. Short of killing them or breaking their legs, she couldn't stop them from following her and Gaara, but there was a part of her that figured that Konoha knowing her movements wasn't necessarily the worst fate in the world. She knew Tsunade was merciful, and she hadn't _really_ betrayed the village or done anything super dire. Just...run off.

Tsunade had run off, once. Maybe she'd understand.

"Ah, fuck it." She put the filled scrolls back in the pile with the blank ones. "I'll give back these two, there's no stopping you from sending them out. I really just want you to send mine. Can you please do that?"

"...I'm capable of sending it."

"You have very _conveniently_ not agreed to anything." Sakura pointed out. "I could ask Gaara to just leave you here covered in sand. Do you know how often people pass by here? Probably never. You'd just die out here, alone in the sand, your tools out of reach…"

"I'll send it."

"Perfect." Sakura giggled as she wrapped up her own scroll. She wasn't a good intimidator, no, but it was still kinda fun to do it. "Okay, here's everything. Gaara, go ahead and let them out."

"You're sure?"

"I mean, if they try anything, just put them in sand time-out again."

The answer seemed to satisfy Gaara, and the sand pulled itself away from the Anbu and back onto Gaara's back. The Anbu froze for a moment, watching Sakura and Gaara with a wary gaze before slowly reaching out to grab their things. When they were done, they reached towards Sakura, wanting the book she was holding.

"Hmm...this?" She held the book out to the Anbu, but at the last minute pulled it away. "Oh, wait, I forgot to say. You only get this back if you tell me what I want to know. Why you're following us and all that."

The Anbu lunged forward, and Sakura quickly moved back, saved from the Anbu's reach only due to Gaara's sand catching his arm just in time.

"You heard her." Gaara spoke. "You won't get it back until you talk."

The Anbu pulled against the sand, and Gaara let go only when the Anbu moved away from Sakura. The Anbu rubbed their wrist before continuing to move away, eventually disappearing in a flurry of leaves and grass.

Sakura rolled her eyes before sending out a sensing pulse. The Anbu was still near, behind her now, and she gestured to Gaara just in time for her partner to intercept another swiping attempt. The Anbu tried twice more, disappearing and reappearing in flashes almost too quick for Sakura to keep up with, before giving up and retreating to a spot some distance away.

"Guess they don't want it too badly then." Sakura said to Gaara with a small shrug. "The offer still stands. I'll just hold onto this until then." She pocketed the book, turning to Gaara with a smile. "Well, guess that means we just keep moving on to Iwa. Plus an extra new friend."

"They don't seem like a friend."

"They haven't killed us, so that's a friend in my book at the moment."

They began to walk again, heading north with the Anbu trailing at a close distance behind them. After a moment, Gaara spoke again.

"So...what had been the green you'd seen?"

"Your eyes." Sakura answered with a smirk. "I told you you'd never guess it."

"Oh."

It was so quick she nearly missed it, but for the first time, Sakura saw Gaara blush slightly.

* * *

It was a day of traveling before Sakura saw the familiar sight of forests. It was nostalgic in a way that made her ache for the trees of home, and beyond that her bedroom, her parents, her familiar restaurants, Naruto, Sasuke…

It also meant that she was now more in her element. She knew how to survive in the woods, knew how to use trees and brush to make shelter, knew how to use this sort of environment to her advantage in combat. The earth was harder and more difficult to manipulate, but that just meant more training for her.

Of course, she had very little time to train. When she wasn't traveling, and sometimes even when she _was_ traveling, she was dodging the Anbu's attempts to reclaim their favorite book.

At first it had started with simple attempts. The Anbu used brute speed and stealth to try and sneak up on Sakura, and Sakura was forced to use a constant combination of her sensing jutsu, her (somewhat improved) physical abilities, and, as a failsafe, Gaara's sand to keep the book out of the Anbu's hands. It was her one bargaining chip, and she wasn't going to give it up without a struggle. Plus, in a strange way, these retrieval attempts were training in and of themselves. With each attempt, Sakura found herself relying less and less on Gaara to bail her out.

That was, of course, until they hit day four in the woods, and the Anbu began to use the Beasts.

She didn't know how else to refer to them. What she did know is that the Anbu would draw onto blank scrolls with ink, and with a single hand sign would cause the drawings to come to life, serving whatever purpose they had (somehow) programmed into them. The first time she had seen the technique, the Anbu had drawn up several birds that had grasped onto scrolls and flown away with them. Convenient for an information gatherer, and Sakura had been happy to note that her own scroll had been among them.

The next time the Beasts were called forward, they were against her.

At first the Anbu tried brute strength, summoning large tigers and wolves to attempt to overwhelm her. Sakura had rather enjoyed that challenge. It gave her an opportunity to practice using her Rock Fist, which, when she pulled it off, proved more than sufficient to destroy whatever was sent her way. It was exhaustive to use the technique at first, but with time Sakura knew her chakra reserves would grow and she could really make the technique her own.

The Anbu got sneakier over time, distracting Sakura with larger Beasts while sending smaller Beasts to crawl up her legs and attempt to grab the book. Gaara had caught onto this first, batting them away with a bit of sand, but afterwards Sakura had done her best to keep them on her mind and look out for them.

As she got better and better at dodging the Anbu's attempts, that led to more and more times where she and Gaara had time to just walk, which Gaara began to take advantage of. Perhaps it had been triggered by the I-Spy game, but Gaara began to ask...questions. Mundane questions, at first. Did all Konoha shinobi know about the I-Spy game? Was it a tactical game meant to teach young shinobi to spot objects that were out of place? What other games had she played as a child? What things did she like? Dislike? It seemed there was no end to the questions Gaara could think up, and Sakura got the vague suspicion that this was the first time he'd ever felt comfortable asking these questions of anyone. Maybe, in a strange way, he was experiencing childhood vicariously through her by her own descriptions of her past. Sakura made sure to be as detailed as she could in her answers, which seemed to bring Gaara some amount of happiness.

More importantly, it solidified the idea in her mind that Gaara was a _friend_. She wasn't even certain Ino had known as much about her as Gaara learned in a week of travel, and when she was younger, Ino had known _everything_.

But Ino didn't know about a lot of her time out of the Academy. She didn't know about Naruto and Sasuke and how they'd slowly worked towards functioning as a team, learning to trust each other, growing stronger, passing the chuunin exams…

Ino hadn't known the heartache that Sakura had felt when Sasuke began to grow apart from them.

But she could tell Gaara about it, she realized, and maybe it wasn't a property of Gaara specifically, but rather that she _wanted_ to talk about it, and especially talk about it with someone who wasn't promising to fix things, wasn't sugarcoating the fact that Sasuke had left and she hadn't been able to do anything to stop him...Gaara just listened and understood.

(And the ache that she'd carried on her way out of Konoha, that ache to see Sasuke again, wasn't quite as strong as it used to be.)

When Sakura was in the depths of these conversations, pouring her heart out to Gaara, she noticed that the Anbu's book rescue attempts came to an abrupt halt. They were listening, perhaps, maybe taking notes, maybe trying to find something to use against her. Whatever the case, it almost served to encourage her to talk about herself more. Anything to get a break from defending herself, for a while.

But if they had the patience to listen, the desire to listen...maybe Sakura could try a different approach to the Anbu problem.

After a week had passed, as she and Gaara settled down at the edge of a small lake to make camp, Sakura took the Anbu's book out of her pouch and held it up just enough that she knew the Anbu could see.

"Hey, Anbu!"

The Anbu landed on the other side of her newly made campfire, smart enough to be wary of her sudden change in strategy. Sakura kept the book out, but kept it close. She wasn't giving it back yet. But she did need to talk.

"You know, if you're going to be following us, you don't have to camp on your own. We're not enemies, so why don't we just stick together?"

The Anbu was silent, so Sakura reached out for one of her freshly caught fish and put it on a stick. She then held it out to the Anbu.

"You can use our fire." She offered. "I haven't poisoned it, I promise."

The Anbu reached out, at first towards the fish, before lunging once again for the book. Sakura simply pulled it out of arm's reach, rolling her eyes.

"I'm still not giving this back until you're willing to talk."

Then, the Anbu did something she did not expect. They removed their mask.

The Anbu was...a boy, and what was surprising was that he looked to be about her age. His face had a sort of prettiness that reminded her vaguely of Sasuke, though his eyes didn't hold the same kind of fire that the Uchiha was known for. Instead, he seemed almost...blank.

He then stuck out his tongue, which Sakura found odd at first until the light of the fire shone on it just right and Sakura could a strange, black tattoo that had been branded onto the back half of the boy's tongue.

"Is that a seal?" She asked. The boy nodded.

"It looks like a silencing seal." Gaara piped in. "I've seen them before, back in Suna. If someone tries to speak about whomever gave them the seal, it can paralyze them. Or kill them."

"Oh." Sakura made a face at this. Would the Hokage use such an awful technique? That didn't seem like Tsunade's work at all. And if it hadn't been Tsunade…

"You're not working for the Hokage." She deduced.

The boy nodded.

"You're working for someone else in Konoha. Someone I probably don't know of who's probably very powerful."

The boy nodded again.

"And if you talk about them, you die or you get paralyzed. By proxy, of course that means...you can't talk about why you were sent, because that involves talking about the person you work for."

The boy nodded a third time.

"Well, shit." Sakura sighed before holding the book out to the Anbu. "Guess that means this is useless as a bargaining chip. Why didn't you just show me that earlier?"

The Anbu snatched the book away, but did not respond. It was Gaara instead who answered for him.

"He underestimated you. He thought he could take it without revealing he wasn't working for the Hokage."

Ah. Now that made sense. So she'd gained _some_ information out of this, even if it wasn't everything. Someone other than Tsunade was looking for information on her and Gaara. It was someone powerful enough to command an Anbu agent, and skilled enough to know a sealing jutsu to prevent their agent from talking. The mystery grew deeper, and Sakura got a strong sense of foreboding as she thought about the implications of what she'd just learned.

But it wasn't as though she could do much about it. The boy was under orders, and she'd already decided that she wasn't going to kill him, and that meant that his mysterious leader was going to know about her and Gaara. The leader didn't seem to want her dead or captured or brought back, at least, which suited her just fine. Let this mysterious figure know about her. She would still complete her goals and her journey, and one Anbu agent wasn't going to stop her.

Instead, Sakura decided, she was going to keep to her alternate approach.

"Do you have a name?" She asked, holding the speared fish out to the boy once again. "Something I can call you other than just Anbu?"

It was hesitant, slow, but the boy took the fish and allowed himself a small bite. After swallowing, he shook his head.

"I wasn't allowed a name."

"What? That's complete shit!" Sakura protested. "How can you not have a name? How the hell do you keep track of every Anbu agent if they don't have names?"

"We have code names. Sometimes false names as the need arises."

"Then give me one of those."

"Nineteen." The boy began, reciting the names as if they were a common list. "Ink. Tiger. Sai."

"Sai." Sakura focused on that one. It seemed more a name than 'nineteen' or 'tiger' anyway. "How about we call you Sai? And my offer still stands, you can camp with us, if you want."

The boy continued to eat the fish, not talking, not saying a word for the rest of the night. But in the morning, when she and Gaara cleaned up their camp and continued to walk, Sai walked alongside them, his mask kept slung on his hip.


	20. Three's a Drag (Intermission Part Four)

Across the burning, blistering sands, moving so fast that he was but a blur against the background, Kakashi Hatake ran north.

* * *

Elsewhere, in a similar burst of desperation, Naruto Uzumaki soared through the trees that surrounded his home, not even bothering to stop as he reached the gates of the mighty village of Konoha. The two chuunin guards posted at the gates saw nothing but an orange blur as the shinobi rushed by them.

(What they _heard_ was a somewhat rushed shouting that sounded like "hiimbackandimgoingtoseethehokagedonttellthepervwhereiwent".)

(When it came to Naruto, this sort of behavior wasn't necessarily unusual.)

The energy of the Kyuubi still pulsed through Naruto as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Naruto didn't think he'd ever channeled the fox this long before, but it had served him well, as he hadn't needed to stop once during his day and a half long sprint. Hunger, exhaustion, thirst, none of those had meant anything with the Fox's power fueling him.

Of course, Naruto wasn't exactly sure how he was going to slow _down_. He'd been running for so long that he didn't know if he could convince his legs to stop. (And he didn't know how far behind him Jiraiya was, stopping at _all_ could lead to his immediate capture.)

So Naruto, having probably done worse property damage in the past, said "fuck it" and catapulted himself through the window of the Hokage's office.

He slammed into the back wall of the room, narrowly missing a screaming Shizune. Only a couple of seconds passed before Tsunade's guards had kunai pointed at him, and Tsunade herself had even jumped up, fists at the ready.

Naruto gave her a sloppy grin as he rubbed his head. "Sorry, Granny. I didn't know how to throw on the breaks."

He wasn't surprised when Tsunade starting yelling at him. He _was _surprised at the profanities intermixed into the lecture; usually Tsunade was pretty good at keeping her words tame, but he _had _come through her window. Naruto didn't mind the lecture. As far as he was concerned, he'd won. Even if Jiraiya caught up to him now, he could still talk with Tsunade, still do what he came here to do. And, most importantly, he'd learned that he was fast enough to outrun a _Sannin_.

"I swear to _God_ Naruto if you ever pull a stunt like this again I will string you up by your ankles and drop you off the Hokage monume-"

"Hey Granny, I'm sorry about the window, but I _really_ need to talk to you like _right now_."

Tsunade paused. Naruto realized that he was rarely ever this serious about anything, and maybe it had been something in the tone of his voice, or the startling nature of his arrival, but Tsunade sat back down at her desk and took a deep breath.

"Everyone else out." She ordered. "And someone put in a request to have that damn window fixed."

With a rush of movement, the room emptied and Naruto was alone with the Hokage.

"I heard that Sakura left." He began.

"Figures." Tsunade replied. "I would have thought you'd have tried to go after her."

"I thought about it." Naruto admitted. "But it didn't exactly work out very well the last time I tried it, so I thought this time I might try something else."

"That's… uncharacteristic of you."

"Jiraiya told me I was a fool, for still wanting to believe that Sasuke could come back. And maybe I'm still a fool because I want to think Sakura could come back too. But the truth is, I wasn't here for either of them. I especially wasn't here for Sakura, and now it's just me. And it's just me because I left the village without thinking about the friends I left behind. So… so I can't bring myself to leave again, even if it's training to get stronger. Even if it's keeping me safe from those Akatsuki guys. Maybe it's selfish, but if I'm going to be Hokage one day, I need to be able to be there for the people I care about, and the _village_ I care about. So _please_, Granny, I…" Naruto took a deep breath, straightening up for his request. "Please let me stay and be _your_ apprentice too!"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she considered his request. And maybe it was as stupid as it had first sounded in Naruto's head when he'd thought of it, but Tsunade was _the_ Hokage, who else would better teach him how to _be_ Hokage? Jiraiya was a strong shinobi but…

Jiraiya was the one who'd told him to give up. And Jiraiya wasn't the one wearing the Hokage's hat at the end of the day. Naruto could learn power from Jiraiya, but power hadn't been enough to bring Sasuke back, and Sasuke's search for power led to the cascade of events that had no doubt convinced Sakura to leave as well.

He couldn't seek power and keep his friends together at the same time. He'd have to choose one way or the other, and Naruto knew now that his choice was never _ever_ going to change.

"You're going to have to learn about paperwork." Tsunade's words startled him from his thoughts. "You're going to have to study. Learn all about the laws that govern Konoha, why these systems were set up the way they are. You'll have to sit quietly in meetings and suck up to people who you definitely won't like. And I will still require you to mentor under Jiraiya."

"Paperwork?" Naruto made an exasperated face, but a glare from Tsunade quickly silenced him.

"Do you think I sit around here all day for my health? Being Hokage is about _leading_ a village, not about conquering it. You have the drive but right now you do _not_ have the experience, and if you want to be Hokage one day you are going to have to _learn the ropes_."

Naruto swallowed down his protest. He _hated_ paperwork, he _hated_ studying, but if that was what it took to be a Hokage, that was what he needed to do. So instead, he simply nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

"Well, look at you, behaving all polite." Naruto saw a small smile make its way onto Tsunade's face. "I'm not lying when I'm telling you that this is what it will take. But, like I said, it won't all be studying. You'll still be learning under Jiraiya, and...well, I suppose since you're back home, you'll have to start earning your keep again, won't you?"

"Oh, you mean missions? I can still work under Kakashi-sensei, can't I?"

"Kakashi is on an extended leave for a mission of great importance." Tsunade answered. Naruto's face wrinkled as he tried to think what sort of mission his squad leader had been sent on, and it came to him all at once.

"Oh, you mean he's-"

Tsunade put a quick finger to her lips. "It's an S-ranked mission, Naruto. There will be no more discussing it. Besides, I've been looking for an extra genin to assign to a team that's been in need of one. One of their own just got promoted to chuunin, you see, and I'd like for him to get some experience leading a three man squad."

This, Naruto figured out right away. There was only one person he knew from the chuunin exams that had gotten promoted, and he grinned as he pieced together who it was.

"You mean I'll be with Shikamaru?"

"Precisely."

It certainly wasn't the worst assignment in the world. Shikamaru was a smart dude, he'd seen as much when they'd gone to retrieve Sasuke. Ino could be scary, but Choji had always been nice. They would do until he could get Team Seven back together again.

There was a rustle of movement, and Naruto heard wheezing breaths as Jiraiya stepped into the room through the window he'd broken.

"I'm too goddamn old for this." Jiraiya complained.

"I beat ya, pervy sage!" Naruto gloated. "See, I told you I could outrun Akatsuki if they came after me! And now Granny's gonna teach me all about being Hokage!"

"And you and I are going to have a talk." Tsunade added. "Especially about how you let a thirteen year old outrun you."

"...he is a very _fast_ thirteen year old."

"Well, you're going to have to get faster. Especially because I'm giving you a change of assignment while you're here." Tsunade pulled out some paperwork and began to write. Naruto couldn't help but peak over at it, but to his surprise, Tsunade actually gestured for him to come look. "Come on, you'll be learning what all of this is anyway. I'm putting in your official reassignment to Team 10, but there's something else we need to put together too. Team 10's jounin commander, Asuma Sarutobi, will soon be on an extended leave following his marriage. That means Team 10 will be in need of a jounin supervisor until his return. Conveniently, Naruto, you've brought a jounin back with you who's currently supposed to be keeping close watch on you." Tsunade looked to Jiraiya with a smirk. "Which he can now do as the jounin captain of Team 10."

Even Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at Jiraiya's protests.

But this...this felt right. He could train here in the village. He would learn how to be the best Hokage ever.

And when Sakura and Sasuke returned...he'd be waiting for them.

* * *

"Excuse me for not expecting him to pull up the Kyuubi's energy like a damned _battery_." Jiraiya huffed as settled against a nearby wall, his hair rustling in the faint breeze the nearby broken window created. "I'd taught him how to pull upon it, but not even his father was that fast. The Kyuubi is...the power might start getting out of hand, the more Naruto uses it."

"You know how he is. You should have told him about Sakura leaving, instead of him catching you off guard with it. I'm just impressed he didn't sprint off to Otogakure the first second he heard about it."

"I think he believes Sakura will be retrieved a bit more easily than Sasuke was. I would have thought she'd be back by now too. Kakashi still hasn't found her?"

"She's covered ground, and she had a head start. She might also be more capable than we'd realized, but I have faith Kakashi will find her soon." Tsunade pulled out a small scroll, handing it to Jiraiya. "This was his last report. Suna is trying to keep this under wraps, but Kakashi's got enough of a head on his shoulders that he was able to put two and two together."

"You're saying...this girl ran off with the _Ichibi_?"

"That's what Kakashi is claiming, yes."

What on Earth could it _mean_? The cover story about going to find Sasuke had clearly been a distraction, but for what end? It was possible Naruto would know, but Jiraiya wasn't sure he wanted to give Naruto _more_ reason to want to pursue his friend. Kakashi would learn soon enough.

There was a small flutter of wings, and a bird landed on Tsunade's desk.

It looked more like a painting of a bird than a real one, and Jiraiya's suspicions were confirmed when it melted into a small puddle of ink after it landed. It left behind a small scroll.

Jiraiya went for it first, mostly to ensure there were no traps imbued in seals or anything else that might harm Tsunade. Then, Tsunade hesitantly opened it.

"...well?"

"It's...information." Tsunade replied, her eyes widened as she read the scroll over. "Information about _Akatsuki_."

"_What?_"

"Two members, specifically. Just a name for one, but for the other...a technique, mannerisms, _religion_…" Tsunade scanned the scroll again, her eyes finally resting on the name signed on the bottom. She let out a small sigh of disbelief. "And it's from Sakura Haruno."

So she'd left to get _information_. Even _he_ hadn't managed to get this much on Akatsuki yet, and this young girl had managed to pull this together within a _month_ of leaving the village.

All Jiraiya could think now was that he wasn't so sure Kakashi would be able to bring this Sakura back after all…

* * *

The unnatural dimness of Orochimaru's lair was leading Sasuke to believe that the man was training him to have night vision.

It had taken him a week to be able to walk down the halls without occasionally stumbling, and even now he had to squint to be able to make out the details of the men sitting by him. His Sharingan could eliminate this problem, sure, but his chakra reserves weren't good enough yet to maintain those eyes for longer than an hour.

He wasn't good enough. Yet. But that would change. Already he could feel himself getting stronger. Orochimaru's strict routine was building up his muscle mass, testing his endurance, and enhancing his chakra reserves even without the help of the cursed seal on his shoulder. He was exhausted, always exhausted, but power didn't come from sedentary life. Power came from pushing oneself beyond their limits, and Sasuke was doing just that.

Itachi had a head start. Itachi had been a child prodigy, Itachi had been away from the village doing who knew what _years_ before Sasuke had even reached the status of genin. If Sasuke didn't push himself harder than anyone could be pushed, he'd never catch up. He'd never _win_.

"I have information that might interest the both of you." Kabuto spoke up, smiling in a way that would sometimes unnerve Sasuke more than Orochimaru's hungry gaze did. Kabuto was untrustworthy, a true snake. (And how fitting, then, that such a man worked for Orochimaru.) Sasuke could never tell if the man was truly loyal to Orochimaru or was working to serve his own ends somehow.

But he couldn't deny that Kabuto was a wealth of information.

"Someone else has abandoned the village of Konoha. And according to my reports, she's headed this way in order to join up with you, Sasuke." Kabuto chuckled. "Little Sakura has decided she loves you more than her village."

Sakura? Sasuke couldn't help but show a small bit of confusion as he took this in. Sakura...she had offered to come with him, that night he'd left the village, but he'd _rebuked_ her. He'd told her to stay, he'd _known_ that his path wasn't for her, that she'd only get killed serving Orochimaru's twisted ends. And still she had decided to come _here_?

"She must have gotten lost along the way." Kabuto continued. "It's been a few weeks since she supposedly left. Maybe she got killed by a wayward bandit."

_No...she wouldn't have._

But Sasuke did not allow himself to speak up, to show any emotion. Anything that Orochimaru saw in him could be used against him. He would learn from Orochimaru...but he would not allow Orochimaru to take advantage of him. If Orochimaru could use something against him, then _Itachi _could. Sasuke had to purge himself of his ties to Konoha, of his ties to _anyone_.

Even if a small part of himself still worried for Sakura, worried that she _had_ died along the way, worried that she _hadn't_ and would show up here…

He couldn't allow himself to think about Sakura.

"It looks as though Sasuke couldn't care less about the girl. Don't bother him with such trivial things, Kabuto." Orochimaru silenced his subordinate. "More importantly, Sasuke, I'm disappointed in you."

Disappointed? Sasuke looked up, angry and confused.

"...you haven't touched your vegetables, Sasuke. How can you keep your body in perfect form if you do not take in the proper diet?"

Sasuke looked down at the meal in front of him. Orochimaru was always so damn picky about what Sasuke ate.

Sasuke was going to _kill_ him one day.


	21. Chapter 21

There was currently only one person in the world that Gaara truly trusted, and that was Sakura Haruno.

But that didn't mean that trust wasn't sometimes difficult.

He had no idea why Sakura had suddenly decided to try and bring the Anbu operative into their fold. If he was being honest with himself, he actually resented it. Sure, the Anbu would be following them regardless unless they killed him, but that didn't mean they had to share their fire and food, and that didn't mean that Sakura had to waste time trying to _get to know him_.

(And maybe the real problem was that Gaara had gotten used to it being just the two of them, and he was beginning to learn that he really _didn't _like sharing.)

He didn't trust a word that came out of Sai's mouth anyway. Maybe Sakura wasn't as aware, but Gaara knew an emotional mask when he saw one. He'd dealt with his own for years before Naruto Uzumaki had finally cracked it, until Sakura had come in and started chipping away pieces. Sai wore a mask as solid as Gaara's had been, but what _really_ irritated Gaara about it was that Sai didn't even had the decency to be apathetic with his mask. He _faked_ emotions, smiling at Sakura's commentary, frowning when she was distressed, and even putting on a friendly front whenever he and Gaara were forced to converse. And because of those faked emotions, Gaara couldn't help but feel as though Sakura was falling for his two bit act, hook, line, and sinker.

"**You could kill him." **Shukaku commented, his voice so deep and thunderous it was almost like an ache in Gaara's mind. Killing Sai would make Sakura unhappy, so of course it was out of the picture. But maybe if he could convince Sakura to see reason, they could ditch this Anbu somewhere, somehow, and then it would be just the two of them again and everything would be perfect.

"**On second thought, don't kill him. I can't stand the agony of the two of you alone together again. I've retched enough in this wretched mindspace."**

It was a quiet night out, and small fireflies danced about in the meadow they'd set up in. He and Sakura had worked together to manipulate the earth into a small, vented hut, which meant they'd always at least have a warm space to sleep. (With room, of course, for _Sai._) Sakura had left to use the restroom, and thus the two boys had been left alone together in awkward silence.

At the very least, Sai didn't try to make small talk. The quiet was better than having to fake pleasantries.

And it allowed him time to think about how to get Sai out of the picture.

It was beneficial even from a neutral standpoint. The Anbu was sending information on them to dubious Konoha sources. He could be ordered to turn on them at any minute. He could be ordered to capture Sakura and return her home at any minute. It just wasn't smart to keep him around.

"**And it would be so much easier if you just killed him."**

For once, Gaara couldn't help but agree with Shukaku, even if the idea was out of the picture. Strange, though, how Shukaku seemed to loathe Sai and yet, as of late, be neutral towards Sakura.

"**You bullied me into neutrality. And since you don't like the Anbu brat, that means I can bitch about him all I want and you won't stop me."**

It was true. And now Gaara couldn't help but wonder if he couldn't turn this mutual disliking to their advantage. They couldn't kill, but perhaps Shukaku had ideas for how to get rid of the problem in another way…

"**Nope. I'm not falling for that crap. You can't manipulate me, kid, I've known your mind since you were born. Maybe you can threaten well, but you're no schemer. And if you can't manipulate me you're sure as hell not getting the Anbu out of here."**

But wasn't that proving his own point? Gaara couldn't do it alone, but if Shukaku was willing to work with him, maybe it could be done.

"**I said **_**no**_**, brat!"**

"Are Jinchuuriki always so pensive?"

Sai's voice snapped Gaara back to the present. Shukaku had distracted him so thoroughly, damn it all, he needed to keep an eye on Sai…

He didn't answer. He simply looked to Sai in a way that he hoped would convey 'I would rather kill you than answer any of your stupid questions about the Jinchuuriki'.

The look Sai gave him in return was almost certainly 'There's nothing you can do to stop me from asking'.

Gaara _really_ wanted to use his sand to wipe the fake smile off the boy's face. He didn't think he'd loathed someone as much since Sasuke Uchiha.

"**You have to get him to show his true colors." **Shukaku spoke up. "**Beat him at his own game. Do what you did with me and annoy him into complacency."**

...as much as Gaara wasn't fond of the idea of actively interacting with Sai, Shukaku did have a point. So, for the first time, Gaara willing spoke to the boy.

"Are Anbu always so nosy?"

Sai smiled that fake, infuriating smile. "It's my job to be nosy, Bag Eyes."

Gaara blinked. Bag Eyes? Was he...was he referring to the effects of his insomnia? Gaara should have been mad at the insult, but he was so baffled by the bluntness of the name that he actually couldn't even process anger for the first couple moments.

"You…" Gaara took a breath. He could be composed. Shukaku was worse than this.

"**I take offence to that."**

"You really think calling people names will get them to divulge information? Anbu must be weaker than I thought."

"Names? You don't like it?" Strangely enough, Sai looked legitimately confused. "It says in my book that using nicknames can promote camaraderie, and to refer to someone by a distinguishing feature. Maybe it will work better with Haruno..."

So Sai had chosen...the bags around his eyes.

Maybe this Anbu _was_ an idiot.

At that moment, Sakura walked into the hut, humming to herself as she sat down by the fire. "I think we're almost back to the main road. We're far enough north that we don't have to worry about Suna patrols anymore. It'd be nice to walk on an actual path, don't you think?"

Gaara nodded.

And then an idea came into his mind.

It was so simple he wasn't sure it would even _work_, but Shukaku had mentioned getting Sai to show his true colors, and now Gaara had one very _easy_ way to do that, assuming he played his cards right. Thankfully, Sakura played right into his plan without even knowing it.

"So what have you two been discussing while I've been gone? Or is it all broody silence between you two still?"

"Sai was telling me about the nicknames he came up with for each of us." Gaara responded immediately.

"**Oh...that's actually **_**good**_**, brat."**

"Well, Gaara didn't seem very fond of his." Sai admitted, turning to Sakura (with that damned fake smile still). "But maybe you'll like yours better...Ugly."

There was a deafening silence following Sai's words. Gaara had to hold himself back, from laughing at Sai's complete and utter stupidity, and from sending him through a wall for even _thinking_ calling Sakura that had been a go-

Gaara flinched as Sakura punched Sai right in the face. It was a good hit, and it looked like it _hurt_.

"WHERE THE _HELL_ DO YOU GET OFF CALLING ME THAT, HUH?"

Sai at least had the decency to look shocked. Gaara just sat back and let Sakura tell the boy off, unable to prevent a few smug thoughts from crossing his mind. Shukaku had said he wasn't a schemer but…

"**Well, you **_**might**_ **be capable of learning."**

* * *

The nicknames had been enough to make Sakura less friendly towards the Anbu, but not enough to chase him away completely. And Gaara got the feeling, now, that Sai's attentions had turned entirely onto him following that night at the meadow. It was probable that Sai hadn't thought Gaara capable of such scheming either, and that Gaara had now posed himself as more than just a physical threat. So Sai was now wary of him, and he and Sakura were now wary of Sai, yet somehow that hadn't been enough to free them of Sai's presence.

Gaara was beginning to remember why he hadn't been fond of his lessons in subterfuge back at Suna. Scheming was just such a _fickle_ process. Shukaku was right, killing was far more direct, far more effective.

(And after Sai's 'nickname' fiasco, Gaara had the feeling he wasn't the only one thinking about killing Sai as they walked.)

They found the main road at about noon and began to follow it as it winded up the side of a rather large mountain. Gaara had known Iwagakure was hidden somewhere in a mountainside, and he found himself impressed by the notion that a village could form in a place so cold and treacherous. Even now at the mountain's base, he felt a chill through the sand that covered his skin, and he saw Sakura begin to shiver and hold her arms close to her body. Suna had forged itself in the heart of the hottest place on the continent, and Iwa, in turn, seemed to have formed itself at the coldest point. It was respectable, but now he was faced with the possibility of Sakura being a bit ill equipped to deal with cold. His sand would protect him from the elements, but Sakura…

"There's a small merchant village, a couple miles from here." He heard Sai comment. For a brief moment, Gaara wondered if the Anbu could read minds.

"What, are you saying I should find a place to shower, so I don't look so ugly?" Sakura retorted.

"Oh, that's an even better idea."

Gaara expected an angry retort, but he was surprised to see Sakura suddenly deflate. "My hair _has_ been all limp since we left the plains." She admitted with a groan. "A shower would be _awesome_. And maybe we could find some heavier clothes."

Damn it all, she was _agreeing _with him.

(Even if, admittedly, stopping at the village seemed like a good idea. But Gaara wasn't going to _admit_ it.)

So, one side road and a few miles later, they'd rented a room at an inn and Sakura had hightailed it to the shower. Sai had taken the opportunity to send out a few scrolls with those inked birds of his (likely the real reason he'd wanted to stop), and Gaara…

Well, he probably needed a shower too.

But for the time being, he and Sakura had several things to consider. One was what they were going to do once they reached Iwa. If they started asking around off the bat about the other Jinchuuriki, they'd likely fall under suspicion. At this point, they were probably considered missing-nin, but Iwa had been at war with both Suna and Konoha several times in the past, and Gaara doubted that they'd be looked upon fondly just by association. They had to approach the village in a manner that did not suggest that they were spying on Iwa for their old villages and did not intend to start trouble.

Sakura's first thought was to go straight to the Tsuchikage and offer him all the information she had on Akatsuki as a show of good faith. As a village with two Jinchuuriki, they would likely value information that would help them keep their Jinchuuriki from being stolen. Gaara's concern with their openness was that they might see Gaara for what he was and attempt to take the Ichibi for themselves, which meant that they would need to ensure Gaara was unrecognizable in order for this tactic to work. Easy enough. They'd snuck out of Suna with none the wiser, so Gaara would just keep his hood up and not demonstrate any abilities that might make him stand out.

Both of them weren't exactly sure where Sai was going to fit in. He was under no obligation to help ingratiate them to the Tsuchikage, and, if he was at all loyal to Konoha, he might even consider it beneficial to his village to _stop_ them from sharing information that Konoha was currently privy to. Sakura hoped Sai would understand that the villages all had a common enemy in Akatsuki, and that keeping secrets would simply give Akatsuki an edge, but…

Well, the Anbu boy was tricky, even if he was a social moron.

The only consolation that the two of them had was that they were fairly certain they could defend themselves from Sai if he tried to stop them, unless the boy had been holding back when he'd come after them before.

They'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

The second order of affairs was money. Gaara, both by being the son of the previous Kazekage and having gone on plenty of missions, had amassed a considerate amount before leaving Suna, but they couldn't rely on his funds forever. Unless they wanted to live in the woods for the rest of their lives, they'd have to find a way to make money somehow.

Which is how the two of them ended up doing odd jobs for the various merchants throughout the town.

Gaara had never done D-ranked missions before, which was what these jobs would have been considered back at Suna. Painting fences, repairing roofs, even walking someone's dog...all of those were menial tasks considered beneath the Kazekage's children. Sakura, however, had done plenty of these, taking to them like it was second nature.

"Our jounin instructor ran us ragged doing missions like these back at Konoha." She told him. "And when Naruto left with the sage, I did a lot of these on my own to make money. I don't know if we'll be able to do these in Iwagakure proper, but I'm sure a lot of these small villages won't mind helping hands." Currently, she was browsing a small building that had a collection of warm clothes, scarves, and boots for mountain hiking. "And that means we can afford to splurge on some nice clothes, so don't be afraid to pick out things that you like."

Gaara had never gone shopping in such a manner before. He had always gone to a supplier that had provided him with the basics. Jumpsuits, wrappings, and a belt for his gourd...that was all he'd ever needed. Shinobi, he'd been told, weren't supposed to make fashion statements. They were supposed to blend in. They were _soldiers_.

Konoha, it seemed, didn't have such beliefs. Sakura had immediately found the pinkest garment in the building: a long, thick scarf that she'd fallen in love with at first sight. That went in a pile along with a heavy red jacket, insulating pants, gloves, and long boots that reached up to her knees. She'd be warm, but she'd certainly stand out. Gaara remembered that Naruto, too, had worn bright orange clothing, which he supposed might have served him well during the fall when the leaves of the trees began to turn, but for every other season…

And yet, Konoha shinobi hadn't died out yet, so maybe they were just strong enough that sneaking around didn't matter. Plus, now that Gaara considered it, he'd stood out a fair amount with his red hair and massive gourd, yet he'd still managed to be fairly stealthy when the occasion called for it.

So...what did that mean for him? He needed warm clothing too, and though his first inclination was towards the dullest colored jackets in the room, he wondered if Sakura might be amused if he went for something more garish.

In the end, he settled for a happy medium. He'd found a brown, hooded overcoat with dark red sleeves. The coat itself reached nearly to his knees, and if he wore simple clothes beneath it, he could keep warm and...experiment with his style a bit. Coupled with some hiking boots, he'd be set for the cold peaks of Iwa.

Even Sai spent time finding a warm jacket for himself, and Gaara noted with a frown that he was carrying his own pocket money. (He could have _chipped in for the rent_.)

He had to admit, with the new clothes, they looked...different. Less like soldiers, more like...people.

And Gaara liked that.

* * *

"So 'Ugly' and 'Bag-Eyes' aren't good nicknames, then."

It was night, and Sakura had long since gone to sleep in the warmth of the inn's bed. Sai, typically, had been a light sleeper, and Gaara wasn't surprised to see him up, but he _was_ surprised to see that the boy was still stuck on the nicknames business.

"I've thought about some alternatives, but clearly I don't have the mind for it. So, Gaara, would sort of nicknames would you use for Sakura, then? Or for me? Maybe you can help me find something that works."

That was the last thing that Gaara wanted. If he was going to give Sai _any_ sort of damned nickname, it would be…

"Dumbass." He turned to Sai. "For you."

Sai blinked.

And then, somewhat unexpectedly, he laughed.

And even more unexpectedly than that, as far as Gaara could tell, the laugh seemed genuine.

Gaara couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed. (Not in a way that wasn't murderous, anyway.) Sakura had made him smile, had even, perhaps, gotten a chuckle out of him, but laughter still seemed out of reach at times. He'd pushed his emotions down for so long that allowing laughter to happen seemed...difficult.

And yet here Sai was, laughing as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

Gaara felt...jealous. Jealous of that ability. Jealous of that freedom. Even an Anbu, it seemed, had more humanity than him.

"Alright then, Grumpy." Sai finally answered. "I think that helps me out a lot, actually."

It was like Sai really _was_ a mind reader, calling him 'grumpy' now. The nickname was probably fitting, at least, and perhaps a bit less harsh than Bag-Eyes. So, for now, it would be acceptable.

And Gaara would learn how to laugh, even if it was out of _spite_.

* * *

When Sai finally slept, Gaara blinked, and he was face to face with Shukaku once again.

It had happened a couple times since the first, on the tower in the fortress. It was disorienting at first, but Gaara had been getting used to it quicker and quicker. He wasn't quite sure why Shukaku was dragging him in here, (and, he figured, it _had_ to be Shukaku doing it, as when he tried on his own he could never trigger the event), but in a strange way he didn't mind. Being face to face with his demon helped put the demon into perspective.

"**You're heading into the lion's den.**" Shukaku began. He let out a long breath of air, and the black sand at Gaara's feet began to swirl with an unnatural energy. "**I've seen how Iwagakure treats its enemies. The instant they learn what you are, your lives will be in danger.**"

"I know." Gaara answered. "But it is what Sakura wants to do, and it is the only way we can find the other Jinchuuriki."

"**They're all probably like you used to be. Cynical, murderous, withdrawn. They won't trust you, even if they know what you are. Not everyone's like that kitsune's brat.**"

"We still have to try."

"**But what do **_**you**_ **want, brat?**" Shukaku huffed. "**You're no longer killing everything, you're just blindly following that girl without any other purpose. You went from being a tool of Suna to being a tool for Sakura.**"

"I'm not a tool!" Gaara protested. "I'm helping her because she's my friend!"

"**And will you die for her, too, if Iwa turns on you?**"

The answer came out of Gaara quicker than even he could have expected.

"Yes."

Shukaku let out a thundering growl, shifting his body underneath the chains that held him down. The bells that usually chimed had silenced, leaving the room eerily quiet.

"**That Kyuubi boy, that's where it all started. I don't know what's gotten into Kurama that he let that boy be so insufferable, but...I suppose it might be a sign.**"

"A sign of what?"

"**That humanity might be able to change.**"

It was...perhaps the kindest thing Shukaku had ever said to him, that admission of hope. Gaara sat himself down on the black sand beneath him. If Shukaku could be civil about things, so could he. Maybe they could even reach some sort of understanding.

Maybe that had been what Naruto had done. Naruto had broken free from the loneliness of isolation. Naruto had friends who cared about him, friends like Sakura that had traveled across the continent to find information that could help him. Naruto had strength. The Kyuubi's strength, and his own strength. Had Naruto spoken with the Kyuubi like this, one on one? Had he helped the fox see that bonds were...something to be cherished and sought out? Could Gaara too convince Shukaku of such?

"I want to live in a world where no one has to live in solitude and loneliness ever again." Gaara found himself saying. "I want to live in a world where...shinobi aren't tools to anyone."

"**The only way such a world is ever going to exist is if someone works to change it**."

"Then I'll be that change. We'll show all the other Jinchuuriki that they have friends, even if the shinobi world shuns them. We'll bring them all together and make the world a better place."

"**Bold. Stupid. Impossible.**" Shukaku huffed. "**And I'm stuck along for the ride, so I might as well try to enjoy it.**"

Gaara blinked, and he was in the inn once again, though Shukaku had one more thing to say.

"**Go out the window and get out onto the grass, brat. It's time someone trained you properly.**"


	22. Chapter 22

There was a chill in the Iwa mountains that was unlike any sort of chill Sakura had experienced in her lifetime. Even with her new garments, the wind seemed to blow right into her very bones.

Gaara was a blessing in disguise. He kept the wind off their backs with a thick layer of sand, something that looked like it took a reasonable amount of effort to keep up for the hours they spent hiking through the mountain trails. When Sakura asked, he said it was good training. Like she'd implemented with her sensing jutsu, long term, continued use of jutsu would only serve to strengthen one's chakra reserves.

(With the Ichibi inside of him, Sakura wasn't quite sure why he _needed_ larger chakra reserves, but she wasn't going to fault him trying to improve anyway.)

At night, even with a roaring fire inside their self-made huts, Sakura shivered with cold. It was near impossible to sleep, a challenge to even find food. Whatever shinobi Iwagakure raised, they had to be _strong_ to have grown up in this. Sakura almost envied them. Comparing Konoha to here, even to _Suna_, it felt as though she'd lived a sheltered life, with calm winters and pleasant summers. But, if anything, that only made Sakura more determined. Surviving the mountain, in its own way, was _also_ training. When she returned to Konoha…

_If_ she returned to Konoha…

Because she was very well still afraid of _dying_ out here, if not from the cold, then from the shinobi who had become infamous for their hatred of other villages, Konoha in particular. But _if_ she returned to Konoha, she wasn't going to be considered squirrelly little Sakura anymore, Sakura who couldn't keep up with her teammates, Sakura who couldn't make it to the finals of the chuunin exams. Naruto and Sasuke would have thrown a fit at being subjected to these mountains, and here she was _living_ them. Maybe she wasn't an Uchiha, wasn't a Jinchuuriki, but if there was one thing Sakura was finding out about herself, it was that she could _endure_.

She knew that Sai was desperate to know why they were heading to Iwa. Oh, he knew the _details_ of why, he knew that they were going to speak with Iwa's Jinchuuriki and pass on information about Akatsuki, but she got the feeling that Sai didn't know the _motivation_ behind why they were doing it. 'Because it was the right thing to do' didn't seem quite the satisfactory reason, though Sai had written it down in his scroll regardless. Sakura supposed coming from the secretive world of the Anbu, seeing what happened behind the scenes of the hidden villages, probably made one suspicious to the intents of others, but had the boy really not heard of altruism before?

But the more Sakura thought about it, the more she _really_ thought about it, she almost had to wonder herself if it was a good enough excuse. She was doing this for Naruto, for Gaara, for all the other Jinchuuriki. She was doing this to eventually find Sasuke and save him from Orochimaru's grasp. Wasn't that good enough?

It had to be. But something in Sakura just...wasn't quite sure she had the whole picture anymore. She had scars for this journey. Ruined her career as a Konoha shinobi for this journey. She doubted Naruto or Sasuke would have wanted this for her. She doubted her parents or Ino or Kakashi or any of the others she'd left behind would have wanted this for her.

(But _she'd_ wanted it, and maybe…)

"Deep in thought, Fisticuffs?"

Sakura inwardly flinched at Sai's newest nickname. Apparently her punch had gotten _some_ sort of message across about calling her names, but Sai still seemed insistent on settling upon _something_. She couldn't complain too much about 'fisticuffs'. At the very least, it was more flattering than _ugly_. (And she was _so_ glad Ino hadn't been around to hear _that_ comment.)

"Well, when the cold keeps you up, not much else you can do but think." She admitted aloud.

"You could try something productive." Sai offered.

"What, like _doodling_?"

Sai was silent at this. Sakura hadn't known until recently how much Sai practiced his art, as he usually did it when she was asleep. But now that she'd found insomnia, she was learning all _sorts_ of things that happened while she was typically asleep. Obviously Sai needed to practice to keep up his skills as an artist, but what Sakura was _dying_ to know was how one brought something to life from a page.

"Can you bring anything to life?" She found herself suddenly asking. "I see you do animals, but what if you decided to do...a sword? Would it come out sharp or would it come apart the instant you hit someone with it?"

Sai looked to her, his face unreadable. "I'm not sure why I need to answer any of those questions."

Well...he had a point. Sakura frowned and rolled her eyes. They weren't _friends_, not like she and Gaara. Sai was technically here to spy on her, she was just _tolerating_ him, which was the only reason Sai wasn't hiding in a tree twenty feet away while they holed up for the night. She'd thought, incorrectly it seemed, that he might be _grateful_ for their companionship, but…

"Maybe I'm just trying to make small talk." She finally answered. "Maybe I thought we could be civil and learn about each other instead of just faking being nice."

"Information is never free."

"Then ask _me_ something." Sakura offered. "You tell me about your drawing jutsu and I'll tell you about something you want to know."

She saw Gaara shoot her a look. She wasn't stupid, she knew Gaara didn't have any sort of positive feelings for Sai, but that didn't mean they couldn't try to make friends. Maybe, just maybe, if she could convince _Sai _that her heart was in the right place, she could convince Konoha and Tsunade too. (And then she _could_ go back, consequences be damned.)

"Tell me how you found out I was following you."

Sakura smirked. Oh, had that been nagging at Sai this whole time? Well, it wasn't as though it had been _entirely_ her that had done it.

"The man with the Akatsuki robes told me." She said, not even bothering with any dishonesty. "Hidan was his name. I somehow managed to liken him to me and he returned the favor by telling me about you. From there, it was a matter of using my sensing jutsu." She hesitated before speaking further...if she admitted she stole a scroll from Konoha's archives, she'd probably get more trouble than just running. Well, it wasn't as though Sai needed to learn _how_ she'd learned such a technique. Nobody asked Sasuke where he'd learned the Chidori from, they'd just accepted that he had a new technique and gone with it. "My abilities with sensing are...kind of limited. My range is about two hundred feet, and I can locate anyone with a chakra signature. So, once we were out in the fields, far from the Plains village, the only signatures I should have been able to sense were myself and Gaara. But there you were, behind us, and that's how we found you."

"A sensing jutsu…" Sai pulled out a scroll and began to take more notes. "There nothing in your record about ever knowing a jutsu like that before."

"A shinobi doesn't tell everyone their secrets."

"And yet you're telling me yours."

"It's called building trust, ever heard of it?"

"In the shinobi world, there is no such thing as trust. As a shinobi, you should know that."

"Well, as a person, I can't accept that!" Sakura found her voice raising. Maybe it was exhaustion, but she couldn't hold back her emotions. "Do you honestly think Gaara and I managed to get this far because we were holding knives at each other's backs the whole time? No human being can possibly succeed without having people they trust. That's why genin are divided into squads. What ever happened to your squad, huh?"

Sai went quiet. He looked down at his scroll, his pen faltering. "I...didn't have one."

Didn't have one?

Well that couldn't be, Sakura was certain _all_ shinobi were required to go through the Academy and be assigned to a genin squad, even if there were some who graduated earlier than others. Bypassing a team entirely? The Hokage would never allow such a thing.

As if reading her mind, Sai spoke again. "Sometimes children stand out from a young age, and sometimes people in the village take notice. We of Anbu Root do not have teams. We are simply tools, shaped to serve Konoha. We take no names. We have no purpose but the mission. And we feel no emotions." He turned to face Sakura again, and his fake smile came to his face. "So no, I never learned anything about squads or trust."

Sakura felt her anger deflate at that. This boy...did such an organization really exist within Konoha? Not just Anbu, but _Root_...children groomed from a young age to become tools...this was not something she pictured the Third or the Fifth Hokage deeming appropriate, but the proof of Root's existing was standing right in front of her.

Konoha was...it had secrets. Not just about Naruto or the nature of the Uchiha massacre...there were secrets far deeper than she'd even considered. Konoha was her home. She wanted to think the best of it. She wanted to think that only the other villages recruited soldiers so young and forced them to fight. But…

Konoha was just as bad as everyone else, and Sai was the proof.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled aloud.

"Whatever for? I'm just answering your questions, like you wanted."

"I'm sorry you don't know any better." Sakura continued. "I'm sorry you never had a team or learned about the things that matter. I'm sorry you've been...alone." She stole a glance at Gaara who looked...far more pensive than usual. Gaara's loneliness was a subject she'd heard about before. Even though Gaara _had_ been assigned to a genin team, he hadn't been with people who trusted and supported him. Sai...was it possible Sai'd had it _worse_ than Gaara? Sai had purpose, at least, a mission, and he claimed he wasn't supposed to _feel_ but no human being could exist without emotions. It was impossible. She'd learned that back in the Land of Waves, back when she'd cried over Sasuke's body, thinking he was dead, unable to be the tool that the village had wanted…

(And with that thought in her head, about the rules of being a shinobi, how she was supposed to suppress her emotions and put the village first...maybe it wasn't so strange that Root existed after all. Maybe she just hadn't _wanted_ to see it.)

"The shinobi world is a cruel place." She admitted to herself, more than Sai. "That Jinchuuriki even exist at all is a testament to that. That Root exists, even more so. I...I really think I _hate_ it, you know?" Was she actually _crying_? Her face was numb with cold, but the tears were warm on her face, and she noticed that Sai seemed almost shocked at the action. "Because we _aren't_ tools, we're human beings with emotions and desires and dreams, and no amount of training or conditioning is ever going to erase that. I don't believe you when you say you feel no emotions, Sai. I don't believe shinobi have to live this way. That's why I _have_ to see the other Jinchuuriki. That's why I have to be there for them. Gaara and I, we can show them that they don't have to be alone. That there's another way. Shinobi can learn to trust and help each other. We can learn to understand...to _really_ understand each other." Without thinking, Sakura reached up, clutching at the Jashin amulet around her neck.

_You can be an emotionless killing machine and never think twice about the lives you take, but for worshippers of Jashin, every life means something_.

Every life...and only through knowing each other's pain could shinobi really hope to understand each other. She may not have understood Sai before, but now, after hearing just that simple explanation, she was certain she understood him perfectly.

"So that's it." She decided. "That's the real reason we're out here, Gaara and I. To show the rest of the world that there's a better way. We're Konoha and Suna, working together. But more than that, we're friends who trust each other." She wiped her eyes and gave Sai her biggest grin. "So what do you think about that, Sai?"

"Hmm." Sai looked down at his notes before rolling up his scroll. "I think…you're delusional, Fisticuffs." He smiled at her, but this time...Sakura could have sworn _this_ time the smile looked genuine.

"Fine by me. Just you keeping watching, Anbu boy. We'll prove you wrong."

* * *

They reached the outskirts of Iwagakure as the morning sun first peaked over the mountain, when half a dozen Iwa shinobi appeared around them with all manner of kunai and shuriken aimed at their vicinity.

It was a main road, so it wasn't as though they were traveling suspiciously, but Sakura realized all too quickly that this wasn't a normal patrol when she was addressed by name.

"Sakura Haruno. You and your companions will surrender your weapons immediately or be executed where you stand."

The woman who spoke was pretty, but carried a look about her that screamed serious. Sakura found a small sort of satisfaction in that the woman was wearing a deep red outfit that was not dissimilar to her old one. (Take _that_, Ino, red dresses were _in_ now.)

They had come here to be diplomatic, so for Sakura, there wasn't a question of what they'd do. Slowly, so that she wouldn't startle any of the shinobi trained on her, she began to remove her weapons and lay them on the ground in front of her.

"We're here to speak with the Tsuchikage." She announced, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Sai had yet to disarm himself. (Gaara didn't carry kunai, she realized, as he could easily make his own weapons with sand.) That they didn't know about Sai yet meant that their information on her and Gaara was somewhat dated...but that they had information at all was disconcerting. What news had been spread about her? And since they hadn't mentioned Gaara by name...did they know he was the Ichibi Jinchuuriki? Gaara had thought Suna would keep his absence a secret and she believed him. For now, she would do whatever she could to convince these shinobi that Gaara was simply her traveling partner and nothing more. "My friend here on my right doesn't carry any weapons on him. And…" She looked back to Sai, hoping he'd see reason.

"That's a Konoha Anbu, look at the mask on his hip!" She heard one of the shinobi hiss. "We should just kill them all now!"

"Quiet." The woman in front of her ordered. "Haruno, we know of your one companion. However, there was no information about an Anbu traveling with you. Those who are from Konoha are considered enemies to our village." With a small hand gesture, four shinobi flanked Sai, pushing him to the ground and twisting his arms behind his back. "What reason do we have to believe that you are not working with him?"

Sakura winced at Sai's treatment. She didn't like seeing the boy manhandled so much, but...what could she do, in this situation? "He was sent to gather information about me." She decided to go with the truth...at least, what might help the situation. "I have...defected from Konoha, you see, and the Hokage thought it might be to join up with another missing shinobi that defected a while back. This Anbu was under orders to follow me in the hope of learning where the other shinobi had gone, as his current status was that he defected to join the sannin Orochimaru."

"A spy, then." The woman concluded. "So you do not consider him an ally?"

Sakura grimaced. If she misspoke...would Sai be killed? "We allowed him to travel with us as my intent was _not_ to find Orochimaru's location and there was no point in hindering his mission. In that respect, as he has been at our side, I consider him an ally, but...I have no current loyalties to Konoha or any motivation to further his mission."

"Very well." The woman gestured again, and the shinobi vanished, Sai along with them. Sakura's breath hitched in her throat. She could only hope she hadn't condemned Sai to death, but...what else could she have done? Sai wouldn't have stayed behind if she'd asked. He'd known what he was getting into.

_We have no purpose but the mission_.

She gritted her teeth. The idiot was so damn dedicated to his mission that he might have just thrown his life away for it.

"You will follow me." The woman ordered. "I will take you to see the Tsuchikage myself, and from there we will discuss if you are worth keeping alive."

The woman turned to leave down the path, and Sakura gathered that she was expected to follow. For a moment, she felt frozen in place, terrified by what Iwa had to offer her.

And then Gaara's hand was on her shoulder, and she felt herself breathe again.

She had someone she could trust. If things went bad, she and Gaara could rely on each other.

It just pained her, in the back of her mind as she began to walk, that Sai might die without ever knowing that feeling.


	23. Chapter 23

Perhaps Sakura had been spoiled by Konoha, but Iwagakure had to be the ugliest village she'd ever set eyes on.

And it wasn't that it wasn't large or grand, but all of the buildings were the same shade of _rock_, the same shape, the same height...only one building in the center of the village stood taller than the rest, the Tsuchikage's no doubt, but even that was just barely less bland than everyone else.

Iwa wasn't at the mountain's peak, like Sakura had been thinking. Rather, the mountain peaked in various places around the village, forming a protective barrier not unlike that Suna had found for themselves out in the desert. There was only one main road in and out of the village, and that had been the one Sakura had come in on. Trying to come in from any other angle was probably suicide, and Sakura knew that the Iwa shinobi likely counted on that. Despite its ugliness, Iwa was its own fortress, and it definitely held its defense leagues over that of Konoha's. (Sakura still remembered how easily Orochimaru's snakes had torn down Konoha's walls...she doubted the snakes could breach a mountain similarly.)

What was interesting, however, was the transportation that the village implemented. Oh, there were sidewalks and people using them, but Sakura soon realized that the _real_ common form of transportation in Iwa was an underground tunneling system that the shinobi simply referred to as 'The Carts'.

The carts themselves were large, roofed wagons that could fit several dozen people inside of them. Each ran along a track that had been molded out of metal, and Sakura noted, after seeing a small spark, that some sort of electric current was running through the track. Whatever this current was, it gave life to the carts, allowing them to thunder their way through the depths of the mountain and come back up to whichever 'station' was next on the track. Sakura wondered just how many carts were running at a time, and how long it had taken to get the timing just right so that the carts wouldn't run into each other, never mind the fact that they were using electricity in a way that Konoha hadn't _dreamed_ of yet. They still used horse-drawn carts...Iwa had _automated_ carts.

"You're impressed." The woman escorting her smirked as she eyed Sakura. "Konoha prides itself in the power of its clans and unique jutsu. Other villages have to make up the slack in other ways."

"Other villages?" Sakura questioned. "So villages other than Iwa have carts like these?"

"Haruno, you are going to be learning quite a bit about how far behind Konoha has fallen."

The thought was enough to sour Sakura somewhat, but she kept face. She was supposed to be playing the part of a turncoat, not a loyal Konoha shinobi. And if she survived this, if it was _possible_ to survive this…

Though, there was another part of her that inwardly flinched at the idea of sharing Iwa's secrets with Konoha so freely. That they were being so open about it with her clearly meant that they weren't _that_ intent on keeping the news of their technological prowess a secret, but...Konoha didn't know yet for a reason.

But if she didn't tell Konoha everything she knew, then...she really _would_ be a turncoat.

She mulled on her thoughts as the cart took her deep into the heart of Iwa. Gaara was silent next to her, but never strayed very far from her side, even as the cart shifted and swayed. Sakura found herself wanting to lean against him, to find some sort of stability for her shaking legs. This was so much to take in, and all before a meeting with the _Tsuchikage_.

How was it that Iwa knew about her to begin with? That was as good a place to start as any, Sakura supposed, if she was going to gather information during her time here. So she spoke to the woman again.

"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to know who I was."

"It's as much a surprise as us as it is to you." The woman answered. "Lord Tsuchikage had been in correspondence with Lord Hiroshi for some time, in the hopes of building trading routes between Iwa and Plains. Imagine our shock when we heard that he'd been overthrown, with the aid of an as-of-yet unheard of rogue shinobi who had a penchant for earth jutsu."

Sakura couldn't help but blush. She had a _reputation_? "I had just been passing through. I didn't find Hiroshi...palatable."

"Can't help but agree with you there." The woman actually smiled. "He was trash, but he was _valuable_ trash. Fortunately, the woman you left in charge was more than willing to continue our negotiations, and she did us the favor of warning us of your existence, and that you were headed in our direction. Lord Tsuchikage was wary that you might try to usurp him too, but seeing as you've so willingly disarmed yourselves, I'm thinking you might have a different reason for trekking all the way up this mountain."

"That would be correct."

"Well, you can discuss it with Lord Tsuchikage. We're almost there."

The cart squealed as it came to a halt at their final destination. Sakura swallowed nervously. She'd heard stories about Onoki and his fearsome battle prowess during the Third Shinobi War, and knew from her history books that he had ruled over Iwa for decades. This wasn't Tsunade she was going to speak with, Tsunade who, despite her sternness, Sakura had never been afraid of. With Onoki, she had no idea what to expect.

To Sakura's surprise, she wasn't brought to the tall building she'd noted before, but rather a large one-story that dominated the majority of the street it stood by. Though it seemed a major building, Sakura saw none of the passersby entering it, and when she was led inside, the first room was empty. It was only once she was brought into the main room that she realized that the building had to be used for training.

At first, it looked like a disaster zone. Broken boulders and pillars of stone lay all across the room which would otherwise have resembled an empty arena. The arena itself had been dug about a story down into the earth, likely so that others could watch the goings-on from above without fear of harm to themselves. As Sakura peeked down into the arena, she saw six shinobi, all looking to be about her age, fighting each other with gusto. The boulders and pillars became weapons as earth jutsu summoned whatever happened to be closest, and as Sakura watched the shinobi get battered back and forth by stone, she couldn't help but think that, if this was some sort of training, it was _brutal. _

She tore her gaze from that battle and looked across the room, and there she caught sight of the Tsuchikage for the first time.

He was old, and the fact that he could still command the village at such an age spoke leagues about the man's leadership and battle prowess. She had thought the Third Hokage had been in office for too long, but Onoki took the cake. He was surprisingly small, shorter than her by at least several feet, and it did not help that he appeared absolutely dwarfed by the man that stood at his size. (The biggest man Sakura had seen in her _life_...and she'd seen some large Akimichis back home.)

Sakura was led around the room to the Tsuchikage, every now and then ducking to avoid the splinters of rock that were shot across the room. The woman escorting her did not seem phased, so such training was likely something they were used to. (Even in the chuunin exams, Sakura hadn't felt such danger being on the sidelines.) Eventually, she and Gaara stood at the Tsuchikage's side, waiting as their escort spoke.

"I've brought Haruno, as you requested."

"And she can wait." Onoki insisted, shifting in his chair as he kept his eyes glued on the battle in front of him. "The chuunin exams only come once a year, and I think one of these might just have a bit of a backbone in him."

There was a loud blast, and Sakura flinched as a boulder was redirected right at them. But Onoki did not flinch, or even move a muscle; he simply sat as the large man next to him swatted away the boulder with a casual flick of his arm.

Sakura wondered how often this arena needed repairs.

The escort returned to stand by Sakura and Gaara, now watching the match as intently as her superior. "We haven't had a chuunin promotion in three years." She admitted to Sakura. "You're lucky. It sounds like the Lord Tsuchikage might be in a good mood."

Promotion...Sakura remembered vaguely that Iwa had not been at the her own exam. Did the village prefer their own test? It had seemed as though every other village in the country had come but Iwa...no, they definitely hadn't been there. Of course, now that she thought about it, it made sense. Distrust of Konoha and all.

She watched the battle too, watched in awe as one shinobi countered a boulder missile by redirecting it upwards with an earthen pillar. The timing and precision required for such a feat...and then the boy followed it up by summoning a horizontal pillar from the wall, sending the boulder right back at his assailant. None of the shinobi, Sakura realized, were using weapons, only earth techniques. She supposed there was little a kunai could do against stone, but a well thrown shuriken could take out an opponent with ease...so were they purposely limiting themselves?

It was over soon after. The boy's redirected boulder took out two of the opposing team, and from there a three on one battle was a near guaranteed victory. As soon as the third opponent was down, a nearby shinobi blew a whistle, calling a halt to the match.

"Winner, Team Anabe!"

The three victors looked exhausted, but they each turned in the direction of the Tsuchikage and gave a respectful bow. Sakura saw the Tsuchikage smile before giving a curt wave of his hand.

"Bah! I don't need to see anymore. Give Itsuki the damn jacket already, he's more than earned it."

Despite his exhaustion, a large grin came to the boy, Itsuki's, face, and he bowed again, even lower. "Thank you, Lord Tsuchikage!"

From there, the team dispersed, though not before a few cheers were given to the newly promoted chuunin. Nurses flooded in to take care of the injured genin, and with that the arena began to empty until only the group with the Tsuchikage remained.

"I saw the look in your eyes, girl." Onoki suddenly spoke, and Sakura realized he was speaking to _her_. "Finally got to see what real shinobi fight like, eh? Konoha has their special clans and secret techniques, but Iwa has something even more powerful. Innovation."

She heard the shinobi around her chuckle. So was that how Iwa saw Konoha? Haughty and bland? She fought down the part of herself that wanted to leap to Konoha's defense. That would get her no friends here. Instead, perhaps…

"His finesse with earth jutsu was very impressive." She admitted. "It's not something I would be capable of matching."

"Bah! Oh, cut the pandering crap." Onoki suddenly shouted. "I know how you Konoha types are. Diplomatic exterior as it suits you. What do you really think, Haruno?"

Sakura couldn't help but wince. She _did_ think the boy's use of jutsu was effective, that hadn't been a lie. But…

"I would expect such finesse with earth to be a standard of _all_ Iwa shinobi, not just the exemplary ones."

"Now that's a better opinion." Onoki agreed. "I've watched these exams for decades. Our youngest shinobi have not grown up in the heart of war like their predecessors. There's a genius in every generation, but not every can be young Itsuki. Every shinobi here, though, is ten times the warrior of your pathetic Konoha regardless."

Sakura gritted her teeth. She was supposed to be a missing-nin, but hearing the Tsuchikage talk so brazenly about her village was pushing almost all of the buttons she had to push. Had the Tsuchikage brought her to him just to trash talk Konoha? And besides…it wasn't like she was currently associated with Konoha anyway, right?

"I'm not entirely sure where posturing the strength of your shinobi will get you with me." Sakura decided to go for bold. "As I am no longer considered a Konoha shinobi."

"And yet, I've been informed you've been traveling with an agent of Konoha regardless." Onoki narrowed his eyes. "A young Anbu boy. Word has spread that you have supposedly left your village. It would be a rather convenient excuse to allow you to spy upon other villages, claiming to be a rogue shinobi."

"If you're so convinced of my guilt, why are speaking with me?" Sakura lowered her head, a bit of humility reaching her as she realized she was, in fact, speaking with a _Kage_. "If...I might be so bold as to ask."

"Why am I indeed?" Onoki looked her straight in the eyes, and Sakura got the very distinct impression that she was being judged by some unknown standard. "The new leader of the Plains has spoken rather highly of you. You helped organize a village revolt and aided in the defeat of a man with a rather powerful kekkei genkai. And now, assuming our negotiations continue as planned, Plains and Stone will become powerful allies. Now I have to wonder what exactly Konoha would have to gain from such a thing."

"Maybe I wasn't working for Konoha. Maybe I'd just wanted to do the right thing."

"The right thing? Interfering in village politics and disposing of a man in power simply because you thought it the right thing? Are you going to come for me next?" Onoki suddenly laughed. "Not like a brat like you could stand a chance against me, but I can't help but wonder what your intentions are. You aren't working with Konoha, so why leave? I'd hear it from your own mouth, girl."

This was it. Her chance. In a weird roundabout way, this conversation was going as good as she'd hoped. "I'm here to give you information regarding an organization called Akatsuki that might potentially mean to kidnap your village's Jinchuuriki." Sakura began. "If possible, I would also like to speak with your Jinchuuriki myself, in an attempt to understand the nature of the Tailed Beasts better. My previous companion in Konoha was a Jinchuuriki, and I want to keep him and others like him safe from this organization's influence."

"Akatsuki?" Onoki's face turned into the visage of confusion, and a firm frown grew on the old man's face. "And what evidence do you have that they seek Jinchuuriki? The Akatsuki this village knows is but a simple mercenary group."

"A merc-" Sakura bit her tongue, thinking back to her experience with Hidan and Kakuzu. They had simply been seeking a bounty, that was true, but all of the information Konoha had gathered on the organization had suggested they were after the Beasts. So why would they be posing as a mercenary organization?

Unless…

"It makes sense." She spoke aloud. "Pose as a mercenary group so that a village comes to trust you. It allows you access to a village without arousing suspicion. Iwa is known for having...tight security." She glanced over to the woman who'd escorted her here, and the woman gave a small shrug. "So if they wanted to approach your Jinchuuriki, it's a safer bet to gain your trust, Lord Tsuchikage, that way they can gather information and find the best possible approach with minimal risk to themselves."

It was smart. She wondered now if Akatsuki had tried a similar approach with Konoha, and perhaps failed, since Konoha seemed to know more about them than most. (Konoha, it seemed, had information gatherers a bit more adept than other countries.)

Onoki had gone deep into thought, but all at once, with a way of his hand, he summoned the nearby woman closer. "Kurotsuchi, you'll deal with this, then?"

"At once, Lord Tsuchikage."

The woman disappeared in a gust of wind, and for some reason being without her near made Sakura even more worried about standing in front of the Tsuchikage.

"Giving such information freely is unbecoming of a shinobi. But I am not so dense as to not take advantage of a good thing when it comes my way." Onoki admitted, moving to stand to his feet. Sakura heard several cracks as the older man positioned himself, wondering briefly how lethal he could be if his body was already starting to work against him. "I will not allow strangers near any of my shinobi, especially not my Jinchuuriki. For all you have told me, I still have no reason to believe you aren't working for Konoha in some way." He gestured for another shinobi to come forth. "You will be taken to a holding cell until we decide what to do with you. I suggest, if your intentions are pure, that you do not attempt anything rash."

"...I will not, Lord Tsuchikage."

* * *

And Sakura didn't, though she could tell that being put into a cell was not necessarily a comforting experience for Gaara. But what good would resisting imprisonment do? The Tsuchikage hadn't had her killed on sight, which was probably a better treatment than most Konoha shinobi would receive, and getting on the man's good side was the only way she could guarantee any sort of chance of meeting with the village Jinchuuriki.

Still, she felt...guilty. She had no idea where Sai was or what he was going through, but as someone who was _definitely_ associated with Konoha still, she was certain he wasn't getting a royal welcome.

Sakura sighed, plopping down on the floor with an angry huff. For the first time in a while, she felt...powerless. Perhaps a small part of her had been hoping that all the details would iron out as she went, that the Tsuchikage might not be so distrusting, that maybe…

They could just waltz into an enemy village and not deal with the consequences?

She was stupid. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_.

"I don't want to die here." She admitted to Gaara.

"You won't."

"I don't want to start a fight either. We came here to meet with the Jinchuuriki, and here I was, stupid enough to think it would be easy. At the very best we're going to get kicked out and never allowed back in again. At worst, Tsuchikage figures we're traitors, tortures us, takes the Ichibi from you, and we die."

"That won't happen."

"You don't know that!" Sakura snapped. "I didn't know that! I got optimistic after Plains and I...I shouldn't have."

Gaara crouched down in front of her, and Sakura's eyes met his. Strangely, the boy seemed more determined than she'd ever seen him.

"You're wrong. Optimism is the reason I pulled myself from the darkness. You...and Naruto...you both believed I could be something better. Would you have thought that impossible, when we first met?"

Sakura held her tongue. She would have, but she didn't want to admit it aloud. Not when Gaara had become…

Had become her best friend.

Gaara, the Demon of the Desert, Gaara who had killed more people than she could bear to know about, Gaara who had threatened her and her team, Gaara who had almost damaged Lee beyond all repair, Gaara who had…

Who had done all those horrible things, and yet here he was, at her side in a cell in Iwagakure, ready to fight with her, _die_ for her.

And now...now she might just do the same for him.

She couldn't help but smile, because he was _right_, and somehow, _somehow_ Gaara was learning exactly what to say to lift her spirits. "Alright, alright. I'll admit you have a point. I won't give up hope just yet. But if stuff goes to hell-"

"It won't."

"...right." Sakura nodded. "It won't."

* * *

The next day, she was summoned before the Tsuchikage again.

She was taken to the same training building as before, only this time she was led into the actual arena itself. The room was daunting, and Sakura couldn't help but notice that there were shinobi on the upper levels, watching the scene below.

The Tsuchikage awaited her, with his large bodyguard standing but a few feet behind him. Though he was much shorter than Sakura, his crossed arms and stern glare were still enough to intimidate. Sakura swallowed hard, grateful that Gaara was with her.

"I've been thinking long and hard about a great many things, Sakura Haruno." The Tsuchikage began. "About your desire to speak with my Jinchuuriki. About the information you have given us. About Konoha...and about where we go from here. Do you still claim to no longer be affiliated with the place of your birth?"

"I...I do." Sakura admitted. She had no choice, really, if she wanted to keep with the Tsuchikage's favor. (Not barring the fact that, well, she still doubted if Konoha would take her back, after everything.)

"Before I even consider allowing you to remain here, I will need proof of your neutrality." Onoki demanded. There was a look in his eyes, a look that Sakura couldn't quite place. With a wave of his hand, Sakura heard footsteps start from behind her. When she turned to look, she saw a familiar face.

It was Sai. A haggard and exhausted Sai, but he was _alive_. She let out a small sigh of relief, up until the Tsuchikage spoke again.

"This boy has all but confirmed that he is a member of Konoha's Root division. Root has infiltrated our lands and stolen children from within our borders to be brainwashed to its design. Root has attempted assassinations upon my life and the life of other shinobi within my village. What do you have to say to that, Haruno?"

Stolen...stolen _children_? Sakura looked back to Onoki in disbelief. Already she had deduced enough from Sai to know that Root wasn't the most pure of organizations but...it had _stolen foreign children for its program_? How the Hokage not known about this? How had the Hokage not _done something_?

"I…" She stammered as the realization of the Tsuchikage's statement began to sink in. "I think...such actions are deplorable. No one should use a child for their ends, no matter where the child is from."

"That is the answer of a sane shinobi. But Konoha has allowed these transgressions to occur for decades without accepting retribution for their actions, or even accepting that they occur at all. This Anbu boy has been willingly complacent in these actions, and perhaps even participated in them. Since he cannot tell us, due to that troublesome seal, we must assume guilty. He will be executed today to send a message to Konoha."

Executed? Sakura couldn't hold back an expression of disbelief. No, she couldn't allow him to be executed, she just…

He was innocent, right?

She looked back to Sai, desperate, but the boy had nothing to say. Of course, how _could_ he have anything to say with that stupid seal? But maybe, maybe if he could just look her in the eyes, she could know, she _would_ know that he hadn't at least directly participated in any of this…

But he didn't look. He merely hung his head as he was forced to kneel down on the ground, arms restrained.

"I give you this opportunity, Haruno." The Tsuchikage continued. "If you truly no longer have any loyalty to Konoha, then you can admit to yourself that this execution is just. If so, then I ask you execute this shinobi yourself. If you do this, I will allow you and your companion to meet with my Jinchuuriki, and you will have my full cooperation and consent to remain in Iwa for as long as you desire."

Her...execute Sai?

She couldn't. She just couldn't. Already the thought of taking another life made her sick to her stomach. She thought of the Plains shinobi, burnt into a crisp at her hands, an image that still, occasionally, haunted her dreams. That had been more accident than purpose. This...this would be willingly taking a life. She wouldn't be able to turn back from this.

And it was _Sai_. Maybe Sai was a little rought around the edges, maybe his nicknames a little harsh, but...he was a person, a boy who was just as much a victim to Root as anyone else.

"What if I refuse?"

"Then you will be escorted out of the village and never allowed to return. The Anbu will be executed regardless. It is better treatment than an ally of Konoha deserves."

So Sai was...doomed to death regardless of what action she took. All because he had followed her here.

All because of her.

She really was _stupid_.

The logical part of her brain argued that she should at least take advantage of the opportunity being offered. Sai was doomed either way. If she got over herself, _got over herself_, and did what needed to be done...she could meet with the village Jinchuuriki. Do what she came to do. She and Gaara would be safe in Iwa, they could learn, they could…

But she'd be killing _Sai_, the other part of her brain argued back. She'd be killing someone who could be innocent. Who had spoken with her, listened to her, shared pieces of himself with her.

And he was going to die today, at her hands or the hands of another.

Sakura looked to Onoki, trying not to show how desperately she was arguing with herself. His face was...unreadable. The face of someone who was steadfast in what needed to be done.

The Tsuchikage would not change his mind, Sakura deduced. There was no possible way...no way to save Sai's life today, was there?

No way at all.

She drew her kunai, and next to her, she saw Gaara tense.

"Sakura…"

"Trust me."

She had already acted stupid by coming here. Already hadn't thought enough steps ahead to know that this kind of situation had been inevitable. She'd dragged Sai into this, and she was about to drag Gaara into this too.

But, as she'd told Gaara…

They didn't have to be killers.

Something in Sakura clicked. This wasn't just about Jinchuuriki anymore. This was about Iwa and Konoha and it was in _her_ hands. Kill Sai, and Konoha would never take her back. It might even start a war, if it was found out that Iwa was responsible, whether or not her involvement was learned. This action, killing Sai, there was no good ending to that story. Didn't the Tsuchikage know that? Couldn't he see that this wasn't a solution?

If he couldn't...well, she would _make _him see.

She stopped in front of Sai, looking him in the eyes before reaching down and cutting his bonds free with her kunai. She turned to face Onoki, defiant and feeling...more powerful than she had any right to.

"I won't perpetuate the violence. You have no proof this boy has done anything wrong, and killing him would only spark war between Stone and Leaf. If you're looking for an excuse to start a war, you will not find it with me."

"And are you prepared to die by those words, girl?" Onoki's eyes met her own again, with that same unreadable expression. "Is this Anbu worth your life?"

There was no hesitation from her. Not anymore.

"Yes."

Strangely, Onoki smiled, and Sakura wondered if maybe, just maybe…

Something was up.

"Then prove it, Sakura Haruno." Onoki demanded. "Prove it, and defend him with your life."

All at once, the other shinobi in the arena disappeared. Only Onoki was left behind, and in the blink of an eye, he was _coming_.

Sakura's first thoughts were that if she fought a Kage, she would die.

Her second thought was that if the Tsuchikage had been taking this seriously, she would have been dead already.

Two paces. The Tsuchikage had taken two paces towards her, and in her mind's eye she began to calculate how much time she had before it was too late.

There had been two shinobi escorting Sai into this arena, and Onoki'd had a bodyguard, all of whom had left. Plus, there were shinobi in the upper area, watching this battle. The Tsuchikage had chosen an arena for this exchange.

(Knowing, perhaps, that it would come down to a fight one way or another. Which meant, of course, that this had never been about Sai to begin with. The Tsuchikage had been testing _her_.)

Four paces. She saw flickers of sand, and she knew, without a doubt, that Gaara would protect her. (But would he protect _Sai_?) There was no way she had the skill needed to take down a Kage, and there was no way Onoki hadn't put that together. (Unless, of course, he'd assumed that in her takedown of Hiroshi, she was stronger than she seemed.)

But this wasn't about _beating_ the Tsuchikage, it was about protecting Sai.

And that was something she had just sworn to do with her life.

Prove it, Onoki had asked.

And she would.

Two things happened at once.

The first was that a wall sprung up around her and Sai. Gaara's sand, to Sakura's relief.

The second was that Sakura slammed her hand down onto the ground without thinking, and summoned forth a pillar of earth right where she predicted Onoki would land.

As Gaara's sand crumbled back to the ground, she saw a pile of dirt land where Onoki had once stood. An Earth-style substitution, and a quick glance around the room revealed that the man had reappeared behind her. She instinctively moved between him and Sai, and by that time Gaara had made his way over, already summoning forth more sand around them. As Onoki charged again, the sand gathered and solidified into a ball around them. Gaara's ultimate defense.

Sakura felt a rumbling 'slam' as the Kage's attack landed against the sand...but the sand held.

And there they sat, in total darkness.

Sakura took a quick breath before reaching into her pocket for a match. She'd picked some up at the small mountain village, remembering the last time she'd been in such a situation. The match flickered to life, and she was greeted by the determined visage of Gaara, and a rather confused Sai.

"You should have killed me." Sai commented. "It would have gotten you what you wanted."

"And I told you, I'm not a killer. And...I told you I'd prove you wrong, didn't I?" She gave Sai a smile. "We can make the world a better-" She was cut off as another of the Kage's techniques slammed against Gaara's wall. "A b-better place." She finished, wondering how long Gaara could hold.

"You seem real confident there, Fisticuffs."

"Sai, now is _really_ not the time to sass me, considering we're the only things standing between you and death."

And since she really _wasn't_ sure how long Gaara could hold, she needed to go onto the offensive. She needed to come up with a plan. She had been the smartest kunoichi of her year, she just needed to sit down and _think_.

The arena...it had been huge, but she could see it in her mind, see the fallen pillars and boulders from the battle before. She knelt down and began to draw an outline of the arena in the dirt, estimating their own position and using a quick sensing jutsu to determine where the Tsuchikage was attacking from. He was moving, rapidly, probably using close range jutsu to attack. The first thing she needed to do was get him away from their defense, or else Gaara wouldn't last.

She reached into her pouch, pulling out some explosive tags. Well, this attack had worked before, and while she doubted she could catch a Kage off guard enough to kill him, she could at least distract him enough to put a halt to his barrage of attacks.

It would require a well timed Tunneling Technique, a rapid use of her sensing jutsu to determine Onoki's location, and...well, a bit of luck.

She took a deep breath, and activated her sensing jutsu.

One pulse. To the forward right, moving to the left. If he kept up that pathway…

She put the match between her teeth, ignoring the heat of the flame as she made the hand-signs required for the technique. A tunnel appeared before her, and without even asking, Gaara handed her a small ball of earth. She put an explosive tag around it, dropped it into the hole, and then resealed the tunnel.

Then, her sensing jutsu again. The Kage's energy had quickly flickered to the other side of the room, no doubt in an effort to avoid her technique. But that had given her a quick break, and Gaara as well, though…

The sand around them began to falter. Even Gaara had his limits, it seemed, though he managed to keep a single wall between them and Onoki. A single wall would have to be enough.

"Just focus on defense, Gaara!" Sakura called out, preparing to make another tunnel. Now that they were no longer encased in sand, she could at least _see_ Onoki, which meant no need to waste chakra on her sensing technique. Now, it was _their_ turn to attack.

Her hands rapidly flew as she created tunnel after tunnel, using bomb after bomb in an attempt to keep the Kage at bay. She couldn't help but notice a smile on the old man's face. (Was he _enjoying_ this battle?) But she couldn't keep this up for long, she only had so many explosive tags, and it wasn't as if she had time to write more in the heat of the moment.

And then she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Give me a scroll and some ink."

"I...I don't have any blank ones!" Sakura protested. But...was Sai actually trying to help? Well, she supposed it made sense, his life _was_ on the line. "All I have are my storage scrolls, and…" Well, she wasn't going to let him draw all over her sensing scroll.

"It doesn't matter. The storage scrolls will do if I can find a blank space."

Well, if he was sure…

Sakura obliged, handing him one of her storage scrolls, as well as her ink brush. Sai quickly unraveled the scroll on the ground, finding an empty corner and scrolling quicker than Sakura would have thought possible. Small birds came to life from the page, flying past her, around Gaara's wall, and towards the Tsuchikage. Now, Onoki had to deal with Sai's birds _and_ Sakura's attacks. She would be out of explosive tags soon, but since she had line of sight, she could use her Reverse Tunneling to attack the man with pillars instead. If they could land just one hit, it was possible that would buy them enough time to start heading for the arena's exit…

Of course, they'd have all the _other_ Iwa shinobi to contest with. All the shinobi that hadn't joined the fight with their Kage. They were simply watching...as though Onoki himself had ordered them not to interfere.

This _wasn't_ serious. This was a test. Onoki had wanted to see how far she'd go to keep Sai alive, and damn it all, she was going to _show him._

What mattered now, more than anything, was that she had to get at least one solid hit on that bastard.

The old man was stupidly fast for his age, and he was small enough that it made him a difficult target. Plus, he had encased his fists in rock, similar to the newest technique Sakura had picked up, and was using it to effortlessly smash through her and Sai's attacks. He was on the defensive, but it wouldn't be for long. These techniques were draining her chakra, and if it was an endurance battle, Sakura would assuredly lose. She needed to make the opening, and fast.

She looked down at the diagram at her feet, and all at once she saw it. The opening.

There was one part of the arena where boulders and pillars had fallen just so...if Onoki was distracted, the shadow of the debris might just disguise a well place tunnel. All they had to do was maneuver him to that spot and then…

Well, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to use the last of the explosive tags on this. She might need them for the escape from the village. But there was something else she could do. Something stupid and reckless that might pay off even more than the explosive tags might.

"Gaara, Sai, I need you to direct him here." She drew an X on the spot she'd noticed. "And then...Gaara, I'm going to need your help with something."

A few handsigns later, she'd made the tunnel that she needed. This time, she wouldn't be using a ball of sand for ammo.

This time she'd be using herself.

"Gaara, watch me." She ordered, quickly running through the hand signs needed to reseal the tunnel she'd made. "Once I'm in the tunnel, I need you to seal it behind me."

"But Sakura-"

"I'll jump in once the Tsuchikage is in position, so you won't have long. You'll need to be quick, but if we time this right, I'll pop up on the other side, and I can use the momentum to get a hit on him. I'll be like a human arrow under the ground."

"It's too dangerous!"

"But it will probably be hilarious."

Gaara and Sakura both glanced at Sai, who had an unreadable smile on his face. If it weren't for the fact that Gaara was focused on his sand defense, Sakura feared he might have killed the Anbu.

"D-don't worry about me, we just need to do it. Trust me, Gaara, I'll be alright. And I need to know you'll have my back."

"Of course I will." Gaara answered, though he still sounded unsure. But they didn't have time for unsure. Sai had started up his barrage of ink birds again, and the Tsuchikage was almost in position.

Sakura took a deep breath, and she dropped into her hole.

With a crouch, she positioned herself in the direction the tunnel would be sending her. Then, she made a single hand sign.

She felt a push behind her as the tunnel began to seal, shooting her towards the other end. At the same time, she pushed chakra to her hand, and began to draw the earth around her fist.

Sakura Haruno rocketed out of her tunnel faster than even her own eye could process. But she didn't need to see to know that her punch had landed, and it had landed _hard_. The force sent Onoki rocketing backwards into the nearby wall of the arena, and she heard a sickening crack as both wall and man collided.

She'd...hit a _Kage_.

_She'd hit a Kage_.

The old man landed on his feet, of course. A testament to his rank, of course, Sakura hadn't expected to seriously injure the man with her hit, but the fact that she had landed the hit regardless was enough to make her swell with pride for a brief moment.

What she didn't expect was for the man to immediately start laughing.

His laugh was hearty and strong, and as he stood Sakura heard several more crack as he straightened.

"Son of a bitch, you popped my back! Not even Akatsuchi's been able to pull that off!"

Sakura let out a small groan. All that work and she'd just..._helped the man out_? If all she could manage was to crack an old man's back, then maybe she hadn't gotten stronger after all.

But, even more strangely, Onoki did not make a move to attack them again. He simply continued to laugh as he walked forward towards Sakura. She was wary, but it soon became apparent that, whatever this fight was...it was over.

"You see...that's what I'm talking about. Innovation." Onoki continued. "I've never seen a technique as stupidly reckless as that before, but damn if that wouldn't have knocked most men clean to Kumogakure!" He laughed for a moment longer before clapping his hands together. "Alright, alright, I'm sold. You're the one I've been looking for after all."

"Looking for?" Sakura was, to put it mildly, baffled. "Just what was this whole fight about, anyway?"

"I needed to make sure you had the gumption to back your convictions, Haruno. And you've sure got more gumption than anyone I've seen in quite a long time. Nobody's been able to land a hit that good on me in decades. You've got the strength of mind and the strength of body. Just the kind of shinobi I've been looking for, for something...big."

Something...big. Sakura felt her knees begin to wobble as the weight of the fight sunk in. She felt Gaara's arms around her all at once, holding her up. (Which she was infinitely grateful for; the last thing she needed was to pass out in front of the Tsuchikage.)

"Sakura Haruno." Onoki continued. "What would you say to helping an old man save the world from itself?"

Save...the world?

A million thoughts seemed to pass through Sakura's head all at once. Of all the things she had been expecting out of meeting with the Tsuchikage, hearing those words hadn't been among any of her top expectations. Saving the world? What sort of madness had she gotten herself wrapped up in by coming to Iwa?

"Um." Sakura said eloquently.

"Excellent." Onoki beamed. "Let's talk over dinner."


	24. Chapter 24

Iwa food was hearty and warm.

Sakura had been served something akin to a stew, using thick vegetables she'd never tasted before and tender meat from the goats that populated the mountainside. It wasn't spicy, not like Suna food, but it was flavorful and comforting. Sakura found herself wanting to learn the recipe. (And thinking, briefly to herself, that Naruto would love the dish.)

Hearty and warm also seemed to describe Onoki, now that they were no longer on opposite sides of a battlefield. He cracked jokes with his fellow shinobi, gave them hell when appropriate, and laughed loud and long when something caught his amusement. It was strange, at first. Sakura had read so much about Onoki at Konoha, about how menacing he was on the battlefield, how ruthless, distrusting…

But now he could have easily passed for someone's crotchety grandfather.

Which he was, Sakura came to realize. Her woman escort, Kurotsuchi, _was_ his granddaughter, and there was a sort of established banter between them wherein Kurotsuchi would do her best to be respectful and Onoki would go above and beyond to attempt to elicit a reaction.

Sakura thought of her parents, still at home, wondering, perhaps, if she was still alive. She'd never been terribly close with her family, not like this. Her father worked hard, a civilian architect, and her mother volunteered at various places in the village. The Haruno family were hard workers, she'd been told, and even though Sakura was the first shinobi of her family line, it had been expected that she would work hard too, and succeed. There was no time for playing around. No time to tease or taunt.

(So she'd studied and read and played everything by the book and...now here she was. She didn't want to linger on what her parents would think of her now. A missing shinobi. A traitor.)

Gaara too seemed equally quiet in the face of such a boisterous family. He wouldn't have had anything like this, Sakura realized, or...maybe would have been kept from it. She could picture witty Temari and hot-headed Kankuro in a debate at the dinner table...but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't picture Gaara with them.

Something, she supposed, she could relate to him about.

So in the heat of the moment she nudged Gaara with her hand, letting a mischievous grin come to her face. "Come on, Gaara, you need to eat up, or you're never going to get taller than me."

Gaara turned beet red at the statement, something that Sakura couldn't help but giggle over, but she was drowned out by Onoki's sudden outburst.

"Don't you listen to her, boy, I've been Kage for decades and I haven't needed an inch!"

"That's fair." Sakura retorted. "If you'd been a couple inches shorter, Lord Tsuchikage, I might have missed my punch."

The man's laughter seemed to overwhelm the table, and though Kurotsuchi looked abashed, Onoki was only egged on. "See, that's what this girl has that you don't, Kurotsuchi. Gumption! And she's gonna need it to keep the Kage in line, I'll tell you that."

It was as good a time to ask as any. So Sakura cleared her throat and began. "So...what exactly do you think I'm going to be doing for the villages anyway, Lord Tsuc-"

"Bah, just call me Onoki, for now, Haruno, we can't waste time with that mouthful every time you want to speak with me." Onoki pushed away his dish and folded his arms, shifting gears as the conversation did. "Do you know, Haruno, why Iwa is so leery of Konoha?"

"No, Lord...Onoki."

"In the early years, when I was quite young, your first Hokage Hashirama tried to broker peace between the five new villages, you see. He was the one who offered us Tailed Beasts, so that there might be balanced power between us. We bickered for weeks on borders and treaties and the like, but eventually my predecessor came to an agreement and we were at peace." Onoki pulled a small pipe out from his coat and began to light it as he spoke. "And then _he_ came."

"He?"

"Madara Uchiha."

The name sent a small shiver down Sakura's spine. Not just because Madara was a village founder, not just because he was an ancestor of Sasuke...but because she'd seen the waterfall that had resulted due to Madara's battle with the First.

Madara was a legend. A nightmare.

"Hashirama desired peace. Madara, however, only desired control. He waged battle against myself and the second Tsuchikage in an attempt to get Iwa to bow to Konoha. And while he did not succeed at the time...it was luck that he did not get the chance to come finish his work. Luck and the work of Hashirama. But the seeds of doubt had already been sown. If Hashirama could not control one Uchiha, how could he control an entire clan? And for that matter...how could we?"

Sakura shivered again. Madara Uchiha, strong enough to take one _two_ Tsuchikages. This part, she hadn't known. And why would she? Madara may have turned against Hashirama, but he was still a founder, still an Uchiha.

The clan that was the pride of Konoha...it couldn't take such slander. Even if it was _true_.

"I couldn't blame him, you know." Onoki continued, sending a small puff of smoke into the sky. "If I'd thought for a moment that I could dominate Konoha, I would have. I _have_ tried, in the past. War is easy when you have doubts and ambitions for your village. We all think of ourselves and our own, at the end of the day. You may not swear loyalty to Konoha anymore, but you cannot deny that you still feel a desire to aid them. That if they called, it would be difficult not to answer."

It was true. Sakura held her head low, unwilling to answer when Onoki already knew the truth. Konoha was her _home_. Wasn't it?

"This is why, Haruno. Why the villages can never have peace. So long as we seek our own benefit, we will only rarely work for the benefit of others. Only when our goals align. If we want peace, we need someone who is willing to go between. Someone who can force compromises. Someone who can work for the good of _all_ shinobi and not just their own. I am an old man, Haruno. I think now about the village I will leave behind and I am afraid. But if you and I can create something...peaceful. Something everlasting. I could rest easy."

"But you said it yourself, I still feel for Konoha." Sakura protested. "Why me? Why trust an enemy at all? I just saved a Konoha Anbu from execution-"

"But you did not do it _because_ he was of Konoha." Onoki argued. "You did it because it was _right_. If that Anbu had been from any other village you would have done it, and that was what I saw in you. In our fight. You have ties to Konoha, but now? Now you have ties to others. People. Places. Plains and their leader owe you a debt. How did it help Konoha to aid them? Plains has no alliance with anyone but us here in Iwa, and even that you did not know of. You aided them because you saw a cruel man in Hiroshi and could not help but act. That is what is needed. What will be _necessary_ in the days to come, or else we shinobi will destroy each other." There was another breath of smoke from the man, and he chuckled. "You say you came here to learn of Jinchuuriki. Your teammate...given what Konoha has done in the past, it is correct to assume he contains the Kyuubi? Born to be a tool of war. All Jinchuuriki are."

Sakura avoided giving Gaara a glance. Onoki didn't know yet, couldn't know…

"But in a peaceful world, such things would not be necessary. The Jinchuuriki, just simple containers for the Beasts. You want to protect your teammate? Ensure a world where those like him needn't be used."

"I...I get it." Sakura nodded. "But...I don't know if I'm really the person you want. I'm not Madara. I wouldn't have been able to protect Iwa from him. If I'm supposed to be neutral, I'd need to be strong enough to prevent the villages from killing each other, and I'm not...I couldn't be…"

"You're wrong."

Sakura blinked as Gaara spoke up, for the first time since dinner had began. "You're wrong." He repeated. "You can be strong enough. But you can also…" He looked away, uncharacteristically embarrassed. "Be kind enough."

And Sakura couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed herself.

"He's right, you know. On both accounts. You will need strength, but more importantly, diplomacy. Stop the fight from happening to begin with." Kurotsuchi spoke up this time. "Diffuse the hotheads and appeal to both sides. There's no need to fight if people are not dissatisfied. And if both sides believe that you understand their perspective, they can trust you."

"I...get the feeling you guys have been sitting on this idea for a while."

"You could say that." Onoki smirked. "We were waiting for an opportunity, you might say. And here you come along, like fate. I had originally intended to groom an Iwa genin but the other villages might be more liable to believe my intentions if I work with someone who is Konoha affiliated instead. You know as well as anyone that we are infamous for our feuds."

"To say the least." Sakura took a deep breath. "I'm...still not sure it's me you want. But I am already planning on traveling to a few places to speak with Jinchuuriki. I could...breach the subject to others."

"Then we have a start." Onoki nodded. "If you pledge yourself to this...project, I will openly pledge myself to it as well. Plains will no doubt sign on, given what you've done for them. That's two villages dedicated to a neutrality project already. You just have...how many other damn villages are there again?"

"No more than a dozen." Kurotsuchi answered methodically. "Waterfall is close by, and Sound, that's been newly founded. There's Cloud, Hot Water, Mist, Grass, Leaf, Sand…"

A lot, Sakura realized, a pit in her stomach growing. This project was huge, and the Tsuchikage seemed so confident, but she just couldn't find the 'gumption' Onoki claimed she had. How could she possibly coerce every village to get along? How could she-

"Haruno!"

Sakura snapped to attention, getting a laugh out of Onoki. "You don't think I plan to send you into this unprepared, do you?"

"...that had been my impression."

"Incorrect. If we do this, we ensure it's done right. And that, my girl...that means training you up so you can knock some sense into us Kage." Onoki grew serious, and his smile turned devious as he looked to Sakura. "And you'll be given the prestigious honor of training under _me._"

Sakura swallowed hard, and Onoki just laughed.

* * *

"I just think he's out of his gourd, Gaara! I am a missing shinobi from _Konoha_, barely even a genin, I accidentally overthrow one shinobi and he wants to pin this huge diplomatic project on me?"

Sakura needed time to vent, Gaara realized. She was a very loud person, whether she admitted it or not, and sometimes she just needed to get her voice out. He was quiet while she talked, which she seemed to like, and he didn't mind listening. He was suspicious to Onoki's intentions, there _had _to be more to it than this, but what bothered Gaara was that Sakura couldn't believe herself worthy of the project to begin with.

Buried deep within Sakura, coming out only when it was the two of them, was the shattered remnants of Sakura's self-esteem, if there was anything left of it at all. She always viewed herself as an inferior shinobi. The one who let Sasuke down. The one who couldn't stand at Naruto's side.

She just couldn't see it. Couldn't see what she'd _accomplished._

**Teenage girls and self esteem problems go hand in hand, kid. You just haven't seen enough women.**

"What do you think, Gaara, am I being stupid for even considering this?" Sakura had turned to him now. "He said he'd _train_ me. _Me_. Trained by the fucking Tsuchikage. Me. Sakura Haruno. A civilian genin with _nothing_ interesting under her belt."

"Sakura." Gaara repeated. "You're wrong."

"I got _lucky_, Gaara. And you have been protecting me this entire way, it's not like it's me alone doing this."

"And you won't be alone if you continue to do this."

Sakura let out a small sigh, but Gaara caught the hint of a smile on her face. "...yeah, I...I know that, Gaara, I wasn't trying to say I'm kicking you off the team or anything. I just feel like...well, he'd be better off teaching you, you know. You've got...more to you than I do."

**She's right, I am pretty awesome.**

Gaara mentally told Shukaku to can it. He was about to speak again when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Sakura groaned slightly before going to answer, and as Gaara watched he caught sight of Sai as Sakura opened the door.

...great.

"He's being released into your custody for the moment." He heard the woman, Kurotsuchi, announce. "If you can't watch him, he's to be under Iwa guard."

"Oh, so that's why this apartment has three bedrooms."

The Tsuchikage had granted them living quarters, since they were his "guests". Gaara, of course, couldn't tell them that he couldn't sleep without raising suspicion, but he'd been more than curious when he'd found three bedrooms in their little block. Now, of course, it made sense.

He'd been enjoying the privacy with Sakura, damn it all, and now the Anbu was back.

Sai was blissfully silent, at least, and Gaara got the brief satisfaction of seeing the boy in handcuffs before he was promptly relieved of them. From there, it was back to fake smiles and Sakura...well, it wasn't just the two of them anymore.

Gaara had heard about the concept of jealousy, but experiencing it firsthand, he had to admit it was a more souring feeling than others had described it. He remembered vaguely the feeling of jealousy as a child...wishing he had friends, a family that loved him, but all of those feelings had washed away when…

Feeling bitter, Gaara quietly slipped through a window and made his way to a roof.

Sai wasn't stupid enough to attack Sakura here, and Iwa wouldn't have put this much effort into making Sakura comfortable just to assassinate her later. He could allow himself a moment of solitude. (Something he hadn't had in...weeks now, Gaara realized. How long had they even been traveling?)

**I still say you should kill him.**

Gaara felt bad that he agreed with Shukaku in this instance. But he'd been dealing with those thoughts since Sai had joined them.

He could train, while he was up here, instead of feeling sorry for himself.

**Fine, fine, I get the hint. Focus your chakra, brat, and make sure the layer's thick this time.**

Gaara did so.

It would be a lie to say this training hadn't been inspired by a certain Konoha taijutsu specialist, but Gaara had been surprised that Shukaku had paid enough attention to come up with the idea in the first place. The point had been made that Gaara's taijutsu was atrocious, and if they ever faced an enemy that could counter Gaara's sand effectively, he would be, as Shukaku put it, shit out of luck.

So Shukaku had devised a training strategy, and the first step was pushing Gaara's body to its limits.

Gaara already had learned to maneuver naturally with a layer of protective sand, which was fairly heavy. Shukaku had shown him, after demanding Gaara release the layer, that this had actually trained his muscles somewhat. (Similar to how Rock Lee's weights had functioned.) If Gaara continued to thicken the layer while he trained, using dense, heavy sand, his body would be that much stronger when the sand was removed.

So Gaara compacted the earth around him, mixing it with his sand and creating a thick layer that weighed him down significantly.

From there, Shukaku began to teach.

Gaara found it odd that the Ichibi knew a taijutsu style, and even odder that it wasn't a style that was taught at any Suna academy. The forms favored deep stances, drawing power from the hips and from the stability the forms relied upon. When his sand layer was on, the sheer weight he carried with him would make him impossible to easily move, if he held stance. When the layers were off, his raw punching power would increase significantly, especially now, as Shukaku said, that he was 'learning it the right way'.

**This style existed long before you were born, brat. **Shukaku began to lecture as Gaara practiced forms. **Each of these kata demonstrates potential killing blows. Now bend your legs further. Push your knees in. This stance is the stance of the Half-Moon. Each breath draws upon chakra and builds it within you. This is the form of a man who will not be moved.**

He definitely wasn't going to be moving after practicing these stances. His body was going to hurt too damned much _to_ move.

**Don't sass me brat. And straighten your back.**

Gaara listened. He'd never been one to disobey Shukaku, after all. But as he practised, he couldn't help but wonder where Shukaku had picked up the knowledge of such forms. The first Jinchuuriki, perhaps?

**Nah, it was before that time, kid. Before your shithole of a village sealed me away.**

Shukaku sounded wistful. Remembering a better time, perhaps?

**You could say that.**

Gaara took a deep breath, visible in the air as the temperature continued to plummet with the coming night. Having the sand around him helped keep him warm, but Gaara still found that he wasn't very fond of the cold. It brought a strange ache to his body that he wasn't used to. (He wasn't used to pain _at all_, really.) Coupled with the soreness of his nightly training...Gaara's body felt absolutely miserable.

But he was getting stronger. And if he got stronger, he could keep Sakura safe.

All at once, _energy_ appeared.

It was like a rush, hitting him all at once and causing his sand to rile around him. Gaara only remembered feeling an energy like this once before, and that had been _Naruto_. But Naruto couldn't be here, which meant…

He turned to meet the energy face to face, and he saw a giant of a man.

The man towered over him by at least two feet, if not more. He was covered in an armor that was a staggering red and brown, even shrouding the lower half of his face with it. Atop his head was a wide brimmed hat, also red. The man stood out, and yet Gaara had not felt his presence until mere moments before the man's arrival.

He was..._strong_.

And as Gaara saw his eyes squint, he realized the man was smiling at him.

"Hello."

Gaara hadn't realized it, but he'd subconsciously dropped into the new stance, hands held out in a defensive position. Maybe this man was a Jinchuuriki, but...well, he remembered how he used to be. How stable was this man? Or was he more similar to Naruto?

"I'm Han." The man continued. With a small grunt, he sat down on the roof, still large enough that he was almost at Gaara's eye height regardless. "I heard Miss Haruno was here to speak with Jinchuuriki, but I hadn't heard she was with one."

"We haven't told anyone." Gaara replied immediately. This man...he could put them in danger, if word spread about who Gaara was.

"Oh. Well that's fine."

There was silence, and Gaara held his stance as he regarded the man. Han simply watched him in return, speaking only after the silence had become unbearable.

"So what's your name?"

"...Gaara."

"And you're with the Ichibi? You must be from Suna, then. I've met a few people from there. Usually had to kill them, though." Han let out a sigh that sounded melancholy. "But I don't like killing them, you know."

"You...don't?"

Gaara had been told that all of the Tailed Beasts were ravenous, bloodthirsty monsters. And even if he and Naruto had learned not to listen to their beasts, that didn't change that Shukaku enjoyed fresh blood and the Kyuubi had attacked an entire village.

**Well, it's the damn horse, that's why. Always a bloody pacifist.**

A pacifist Beast?

"Kokuo prefers to stay out of fights, if we can help it. But sometimes the village needs us. That's why we were put together. Now, Roshi on the other ha-"

Energy hit Gaara like a wave all at once again, and in a blink Gaara saw a new man appear, slamming a hand over Han's mouth. Gaara first noticed a shock of red hair, similar to his own, before taking in magenta robes and a pointed headpiece.

"Han, what did I tell you about spouting off to the enemy? You said you were just coming to look!"

Han gently peeled the other man's hand off with ease. "He's the Ichibi, Roshi. He's just like us."

"Oh boy. He'll kill us in our sleep that much easier then."

"I remember when you said that about me." Han answered pleasantly. "And now you can't fall asleep unless I-"

Roshi slammed his hand back against Han's mouth with enough force to rock the man's head slightly.

**And the monkey. Great. Now I'm doomed for a headache.**

Gaara wondered briefly if he might be too.

But they were here, right here in front of him. Other Jinchuuriki! And even if one of them seemed rather loud and unfriendly, they weren't...like he had been.

And they had each other.

Gaara had been expecting the worst. People like him, shunned, hateful, murderous. Maybe a small part of him had hoped to help other Jinchuuriki like Naruto had helped him.

Whatever the case...he had the feeling he had his hands full with these two.

* * *

Sakura Haruno was an illogical oddity.

He had expected strangeness when he had been ordered to trail her. Only a strange shinobi would abandon their home for any reason. He had also expected to find her in the arms of Sasuke Uchiha, given her runaway note and what others in the village had to say about her. In fact, Danzo had been counting on this.

What he hadn't expected had been to find the girl halfway into Suna territory with a Jinchuuriki and a newly formed, freshly revolted Plains village.

And he especially hadn't expect her to locate him nearly instantly without so much as a telling glance towards his location.

The capture and interrogation _was_ expected, after being caught. The letting him go, illogical. By all accounts it would have been better if they'd killed him.

So why had she insisted that he be let go?

And for that matter, after everything, why did she risk her life to protect him from the Tsuchikage?

There was something strange about Sakura Haruno alright. Something that Sai just wasn't fitting together. She preached about friendship and trust, but nobody got this far from home with this many allies on just hopes and whims. Sakura had some sort of plan. Some sort of true agenda.

The logical part of Sai's mind knew this.

Another part, a part he buried, a part he refused to listen to, wondered if he just might like this Sakura Haruno a little bit.

* * *

_From one Root to another_

_The target has made contact with the Master of Stones. Target seems to have taken a favorable position under the Master._

_She acts as though she has purpose, but this purpose is yet in unknown. She seeks Containers, but perhaps also seeks to elevate her own status in the shinobi world. It is possible ambition motivates her._

_It is as though she is a sapling who has branched off from the Tree. I have yet to determine what sort of tree she will become._

_No sign of the Heir of Flame. The Sand Container still keeps careful vigilance over the target._

* * *

_From one Root to another_

_If the target grows too tall, trim the tree and let the sand fall to dust._


	25. Chapter 25

It was surprisingly easy to fall into a routine.

Sakura woke up early, long before she knew Onoki would be able to get himself out of bed, and she and Gaara went to what the locals called Training Ground Zero. It was a mess of a stadium, something more akin to a crater than an actual arena, and the rough rubble made it difficult to keep one's footing.

Kurotsuchi told her that a man named Deidara had dropped an experimental bomb there, once, in the years before he went rogue. The explosion had melted away rock and stone, weakening the ground and leaving the crater behind. The official story was that Iwa had found use for it as a training ground and that was why they hadn't filled it back in yet, but the truth, Kurotsuchi whispered in her ear, was that it would take mining half a mountain to fill it again, and Iwa wasn't willing to waste resources on that.

In a weird way, Sakura was grateful that it existed. With the ground so unstable, few people trained there, which meant for most mornings she and Gaara could train together at their leisure.

Shukaku, it seemed, had been teaching Gaara taijutsu. This was something she jotted down into her own notes, as it not only brought up the interesting thought of Tailed Beasts remembering things like taijutsu to begin with, but also suggested that Shukaku was becoming...easier to work with? She wasn't sure if that was exactly the right way of going about it, but if Shukaku was willingly sharing information with Gaara, willingly teaching him, that meant…

That meant Tailed Beasts weren't horrible, murderous monsters. They could be reasoned with. Won over. Shown friendship and compassion, and _show_ friendship and compassion in turn. Gaara still described Shukaku as a 'grumpy raccoon', but that was _leagues_ better than a year ago, when Gaara had been mad with Shukaku's words in his mind.

(And there was some part of Sakura that wondered if this was some scheme of Shukaku's, some new way of getting to Gaara, but...maybe she wanted to believe the best, despite thoughts of the worst.)

Sakura's styles of taijutsu were basic at best, Academy level. She'd never had a taijutsu teacher, and something about Gaara's forms suggested that they wouldn't suit her. She wasn't a bulky, defensive type fighter; if anything, she was finding herself far more offensive, wanting to have the speed to take fights head on.

Her first sparring session with Gaara had been a disaster. They'd both agreed to no jutsu, save the sand Gaara was now keeping around him for weight training, and Sakura hadn't been able to so much as hit Gaara without wincing from the pain of hitting armor. And that, of course, was when she was able to hit him at all. The new forms Gaara was practicing favored swatting her pathetic punches away with ease, and while it taught her to be clever when it came to her hits, it meant that her wrists and hands were sore by the end of the session from how many times Gaara had tagged her.

Sakura had lamented, at first, that she would never catch up to Gaara now, not without using some sort of jutsu.

And then Onoki had stepped in.

He'd watched her for all of a minute before stepping between her and Gaara. He used his small walking cane with surprising dexterity, turning her around and directing her towards a completely different building.

"You're not going to build yourself up doing _that_, Haruno."

And then the _real_ routine began.

Weight training. Lifting, pressing, sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, all with Onoki's harsh voice cracking down over her as she worked. Onoki told her what she'd do each day, and she'd do it, until her body felt as though it was going to melt.

"Earth-style jutsu is about strength." Onoki would lecture. "As is any sort of taijutsu that's going to break through Sand-Boy's little routine. You have the brain to read a situation and figure out the best course of action, but your body isn't ready for it yet. You'll be lifting weights until you can crack Gaara's sand with your bare damn knuckles."

Sakura didn't believe that was possible, but she was starting to see why others thought Onoki terrifying, and there was no way she was going to back-talk him now.

So began her strength training. Every other day, she'd begin sparring with Gaara, then go straight to training under Onoki until lunch-time. After that came discussion and planning. Onoki, it seemed, had _really_ been thinking of everything when it came to his 'neutrality project'. He had Iwa's dossiers on every Kage, information on Hidden Villages, their trade routes, their borders, their policies...and plans on how best to approach each of them.

"The Raikage and the Mizukage will be the most difficult to approach, discounting that bastard of a snake down in Oto." Onoki explained. "The Raikage is notoriously protective of his people, and among the most powerful shinobi I know. As for the Mizukage...no one has heard from him in quite some time. There's rumors of civil war down in Kiri, and if that's the case there's no telling what you'll find once you cross their borders." He'd paused at the time, looking somewhat troubled. "...admittedly Iwa might have contributed to some of the chaos. Convincing them to enter any sort of agreement with us will be perhaps the most difficult task you'll face."

Sakura had gulped.

"A secondary task would be finding yourself a base of operations." Onoki continued. "If this project is successful, you wouldn't be aligned with any village. You'd need a place to call your home, as well as somewhere to call Kages to meeting without anyone fearing attack. A true neutral ground."

He'd marked several places on her map. The first was the Mountain's Graveyard, a large strip of land between Taki and Oto that no shinobi had claimed for generations. There were many who believed it cursed, or guarded by spirits that would kill whomever set foot upon it.

A lovely first choice, Sakura had pointed out.

Other areas of note were a small island between Kiri and Kumo, and nearby that the small stretch of land where Uzushiogakure had once stood. There were smaller strips of unclaimed land further inland, but they were typically the sites of border disputes, and the last thing Sakura needed was fighting when she was trying to maintain peace. Better to claim lands no one else had their eye on.

In the evenings, Sakura would return with Gaara to their apartment and they would meditate, attempting to increase their chakra stores as well as hone Sakura's sensing jutsu.

In the odd days between Sakura's strength training, she was allowed to rest. Onoki stressed the importance of allowing her body a break, as too much strength training would damage rather than toughen her up. But, of course, Sakura wasn't allowed a true rest. Her odd days were spent studying.

And this began with Onoki walking her through a mineral museum.

Onoki would stop at each exhibit, describing both the various layers of rock and ground that could be found beneath them, as well as the stones and mineral that could be mined from within. He listed every component and what percentage of the earth it made up, where each ratio was most likely to be found, and the physical properties of each. Memorize them, he told Sakura.

And _that_, she could do.

Sakura had always been booksmart, and she'd grinned from ear to ear when she realized that the little museum had educational books. Though she didn't have much pocket money, she'd bought herself a copy, making sure to study it every night before she went to bed. These lessons, she quickly began to understand. The more she knew about the properties of the earth beneath her, the better equipped she would be to manipulate it. If the ground was soft, she'd need to spend more effort hardening it for her jutsu to be effective. If the ground was hard, it would be more difficult to move. It required perfect control to manipulate all types of earth equally, and Sakura could _do_ control.

Sai was with them, always. He wasn't allowed to go elsewhere without armed guard, and Sai seemed content enough just...sticking around. Whenever Sakura caught glimpses of the boy, he was always sketching or writing down something. Taking notes for Konoha no doubt. But he had seemed different since they'd arrived in Iwa, more openly inquisitive. He would ask why Sakura spoke a certain way, why she'd smiled a certain way, why Gaara was always so livid around him. (The latter, Sakura still wasn't fully sure, but she was starting to suspect there was more to Gaara's dislike than mere suspicion.)

She was allowed one weekend day to herself, which she spent getting to know the town of Iwa. The villagers were leery of her at first, but since she was so often seen with the Tsuchikage, it didn't take long for them to warm up.

Sakura made a surprising friend in Kurotsuchi, whom had certainly been sent to keep an eye on her, but Sakura wasn't going to complain. The woman was a treat to be around. She would show Sakura and the boys a new place to eat every evening, introducing her to the patrons and letting Sakura's name spread around. On her weekends, Kurotsuchi would show her village monuments and talk history.

"I think it would be better to hear about our village through the eyes of an Iwa shinobi, and not your old Konoha dossiers." Kurotsuchi had explained. "And really, you should try to learn about each village this way. Learn what their enemies have to say, and then learn what they think about themselves. Much like you would an enemy shinobi."

There had been two Tsuchikage before Onoki. The First had been Onoki's grandfather, supposedly able to discern the strength and value of any stone simply by looking at it, and had been a prodigy in Earth-style jutsu. There was little historical record on him, simply because there was little of the man's time in general.

Far more was there on the second Tsuchikage, who interested Sakura far more anyway. The man had been a true shadow, able to wield all five elements, revered as a Non-Person who could completely hide his own chakra signature, and, most interestingly, known for having such a keen sensory jutsu that he could avoid attacks that most shinobi couldn't see coming.

(Sakura had looked at her own scroll that night, after learning of the Second, and wondered briefly if her scroll was of Konoha origin after all.)

An easy routine. A simple routine. And Sakura wasn't just getting tougher, she was getting _smarter_.

And, more importantly...she felt as though she was learning something else. Something she hadn't necessarily been good at before: getting closer to others. To the villagers. To the Iwa shinobi. To the Tsuchikage. To Sai.

To Gaara.

In the cold mountains of Iwagakure, maybe she was getting…

Strong?

* * *

For the first time in his life, Gaara was truly and consistently happy.

He could live here forever in Iwa, training with Sakura, learning about the village, and spending his nights in the company of Han. (And occasionally Roshi.) Even if it hadn't been where he'd grown up, even if he hadn't been here long...this place was more of a home than Suna had ever been. Akatsuki meant nothing. The looming danger of it all...nothing.

Here, he was happy.

Though the nights were cold, they were never long enough. Gaara would perch on the roof of their apartment and wait, and Han would eventually appear in a flurry of snow and earth. The man liked talking, and Gaara liked listening. When he'd told Sakura of the appearance of the two Jinchuuriki, she'd been happy for him.

"Make friends with them, Gaara. Learn as much as you can. They're like you, after all."

Gaara had originally thought Sakura would _want _to take point regarding Han and Roshi, but she seemed more than content to let him build the relationship, and for that he was grateful. It worked out, in the end. Han and Roshi were a careful lot, with Roshi being distrustworthy of pretty much anyone besides Han, and Han only really speaking with Gaara because they had a kinship in their positions, which Roshi could grudgingly accept. Gaara had never seen two men as close as they.

"We needed each other." Han explained. "The village has no love for us, so we had to have love for each other." He gave his trademark smile, barely visible behind his thick armor. "Roshi wouldn't have it, at first. He was slightly older than myself. He'd dealt with things longer. At the time, he told me, 'there was no such thing as camaraderie, so we had to look out for ourselves'."

Gaara was more than intimately familiar with such a mindset. "How did you change his mind?"

"I didn't give up." Han said simply. "And I proved him wrong by looking out for him."

It was so simple it was almost laughable...but Gaara understood.

Sakura...she'd been there. She had just been there. And that had been enough.

Occasionally, Han would take him to a small cave on the outskirts of the village. There was a quiet pool near the back of the cave, kept clear with a small trickle of running water that came down from the mountain top. The trickle echoed through the cave rhythmically, and Gaara couldn't help but feel a sense of peace when he was by the pool. Near there was where the two Jinchuuriki made their home, and the cave itself was somewhere that the two used for meditating.

"Mostly me." Han admitted with a shrug. "Roshi isn't really the type to sit down for more than five minutes. But you wondered how I communicated so much with Kokuo, and this is how. I sit here when I need the quiet, and I can speak with him."

"I've spoken with Shukaku all my life, but...only recently have I ever seen him." Gaara replied. "I think he's the one that tends to drag me in."

"Means the boy's seal is shit." Roshi commented brusquely. "Shouldn't be able to communicate with your Beast so easily unless you will it. I told you the boy was a damn problem, Hoshi, Ichibi's going to break out in the middle of the goddamn night and kill us all."

"Not so long as I don't fall asleep."

"Oh that's _extremely_ reassuring."

With that, Han had prodded until Gaara sat down and showed Han the location of his seal. Both Jinchuuriki examined him, and he heard several hums of discontent. Gaara had known his seal was shoddy for a while, but the extent of it seemed to consistently surprise others.

"There's only one thing you can do unless you can find a sealmaster." Han concluded. "And that's make sure Shukaku doesn't ever have a reason to violently break free."

"And what can I do to ensure that?"

"Make friends with him."

Gaara could not consider Shukaku a friend. He could barely consider the Beast a teacher. Years of hearing his whispers, of killing for him, of being driven further and further into darkness...how could Gaara _trust_ Shukaku, let alone befriend him? And for that matter, how could he convince the Beast that friendship was worth investing in.

"You don't give up." Han reminded him.

And thus, Gaara's own project began.

It was a difficult project, given that Shukaku knew about it. At first, Shukaku insisted on keeping their relationship 'business professional'. Gaara was there to learn, Shukaku was there to make sure he didn't die young.

But Gaara didn't give up. For several hours, every night, he sat in the small cave and meditated. And every night, once he found himself within Shukaku's massive chamber, he badgered the Beast with questions.

"How long have you been alive? Do you have parents? Can you use any of the five elemental chakra? Where did you live, before Suna?"

Shukaku was tight-lipped, at first ignoring Gaara before eventually outwardly berating him for being an annoyance. Gaara only managed to get one question answered in his time.

"Has there ever been a human that you've liked?"

"**One." **Shukaku answered. "**Though calling him human is a bit of a stretch. Hagoromo was infinitely more interesting than any of the rest of you ants scurrying around."**

The name Hagoromo wasn't familiar to Gaara, but that didn't mean he couldn't dedicate some of his hours to researching it. And perhaps, if he looked for long enough, Shukaku might be kind enough to chip in.

Fortunately, he didn't have to look long, for it was Han that actually knew of the name.

"The Sage of Six Paths." Han explained. "Kokuo speaks fondly of him, but little more than that. And from Roshi's brief conversations with Son Goku, we can assume all of the Tailed Beasts were familiar with Hagoromo. Of course, getting Roshi and Son Goku to communicate at _all_ is difficult…"

Gaara didn't doubt that.

The Sage of Six Paths. Gaara knew enough about history to know that this Hagoromo was the ancestor of all shinobi, the supposed origin of chakra, and someone whose power had never been replicated in the generations that came after him. That the Beasts were familiar with him indicated that the Beasts were ancient. Gaara couldn't imagine living for such a long time, seeing all of history slowly go by. And in a way...he could understand why Shukaku might be cynical. After a brutal warring era, followed by three 'shinobi world wars'...humanity had to seem pretty violent.

"Not just that, but we must seem like children in comparison." Sakura had pointed out when Gaara had told her about the Sage. "I mean, from all I remember reading anyway, the Sage had access to the Rinnegan eyes, which can supposedly create or destroy on a whim. Not even the Sharingan is that impressive. And nobody's wielded the Rinnegan since."

No one in all of history? It seemed strange. Unlikely that history wouldn't repeat itself. But clearly there were things Gaara was missing, and Shukaku's lips were sealed.

So while Gaara was not going to relent in his goal of getting on Shukaku's good side, he spent more of his time befriending the Jinchuuriki. And in similar manner, Gaara decided that he was going to specifically befriend Roshi.

Han, thankfully, was all too eager to help.

"Bring him breakfast." He suggested. "Bacon, eggs, pancakes, the works. He's never upset when he has breakfast."

(It was true, Gaara found out. It got Roshi to stay in his presence long enough to see the man's face go from 'angry' to 'neutral'.)

Each day was another challenge in this new life of making friendships. Each day was another training session, with Sakura or Shukaku, getting stronger. Each day…

Gaara was happy.

* * *

"No, Gaara, not like that. Put your knuckles closer to the ground, and then flick. It'll make the marble go further."

Sai watched as Sakura Haruno and the Ichibi crouched on a flat plot of ground. A crude circle had been drawn in the dirt, and a collection of brilliantly colored marbles had been set up in the center. Sakura and Gaara each started with a single marble. The goal, Sai had deduced, was to knock as many marbles out of the circle with the starting marble as possible.

A child's game. He had seen it once or twice patrolling Konoha, but had never had interest until now. Why did the two waste time on such frivolous games when they could be occupying themselves with something more productive?

But he couldn't deny that the smile on Sakura's face was genuine as she explained the rules, and he couldn't deny that, for a brief moment, he'd seen a hint of a smile on Gaara's face as they played. So strange, Sai thought. Such legitimate smiles.

He'd been placed on 'probation', allowed to wander unchained in Iwa so long as he was near either Sakura or an Iwa shinobi. It suited him fine. He was supposed to keep watch over Sakura anyway, and if she was going to waste hours on a child's game, that made it easier for him. It also gave him time to draw.

Free drawing was something he rarely had the time for. Art was his jutsu, art made him valuable to Root, but it was never meant to be for himself. Yet, there was no _real_ reason for him to spend time sketching Sakura and Gaara, other than for himself. Root already knew what the two looked like, and drawings of them playing games would be considered laughable.

But Sai was drawn to the picture, drawn to sketching it over and over again until he could invoke whatever feeling watching the two brought him. And there _was_ a feeling, something he'd buried but was threatening to burst out of his seams unless he could just…

He watched as Sakura gently took hold of Gaara's hand, showing him the best way to flick. They were from separate villages, by all accounts polar opposites, and yet they moved around each other like they had known each other all their lives.

And all at once, he remembered.

He remembered how his book was supposed to end.

Time seemed to slow down as he pulled his book out, flipping to the middle page. He remembered. Two hands touching. Two brothers. Two people, having known each other all their lives, fighting, getting stronger, and then…

(Pain, and he pushed that down on instinct, couldn't think about it, couldn't dwell on it)

Their hands, together, as they met after their many trials and tribulations. Sai sketched furiously, not wanting to forget the image now that he had it. He didn't even realize that Sakura and Gaara had caught sight of him, and had come over for a closer look. He just had to finish it. For him.

For _him_.

"I like it." Sakura said, jolting him out of his thoughts. "They meet together at the end and become friends."

Sai looked down at his picture again, and _felt_...something that could only be described as bittersweet.

"It's just a fairy tale." Sai said simply. "Friendship only happens in fairy tales, Fisticuffs. It's a silly book."

"I don't think so."

She held out a hand to him, with a single marble in it.

"You could play too, you know."

He didn't. He couldn't. He wasn't supposed to feel. Wasn't supposed to remember.

(But _fuck_ _it all_, he wanted to anyway.)

* * *

"Sakura?"

There was another knock on the door, and Sakura yawned as she opened it. It was a rest day, thankfully, but that didn't mean her training hadn't left her sore. "What is it?" She asked, surprised to see Kurotsuchi there so early.

"Get dressed. There's something you'll want to see."

Several minutes later, Sakura had pulled on her clothes, tied her hair back, and woken Sai for their surprise morning trip. It was a cold morning, the near dead of winter now, and the sun had barely begun to rise over the nearby mountain peaks.

"Patrol caught someone rushing to the village borders this morning." Kurotsuchi explained as they walked. "An enemy shinobi...and a nasty strong one at that. It took a dozen shinobi to get him tied up, and we're still not sure we have him fully contained. But what we do know is that ever since he woke up, he's been asking to speak with you."

"Me?" Sakura blinked in confusion. "Why me?"

"Maybe it's better if you see who it is. You might know more than we do."

Kurotsuchi led her down, down below the ground level of the village, to what Sakura deduced had to be prisons and interrogation rooms. The Tsuchikage was waiting for them, along with several other menacing shinobi who parted for her as she walked by.

"Don't let sentiment get the better of you, Haruno. Figure out why he's here for us and we won't have to get dirty." Onoki told her. "We're trying to start alliances here, not wars, and if Konoha is going to make things difficult we need to know."

Wait...Konoha?

Sakura didn't wait for another second. With Gaara trailing behind her, she made her way into the prison room.

A man sat in front of her, tied down to a chair. A Konoha headband was pulled down over one eye, and a shock of silver hair flopped down over the man's head. His single, uncovered eye looked up at her with a mixture of both shock and relief.

"Sakura."

Sakura took a minute to take in the image of her old sensei, tied up in front of her, exhausted but..._here_. Why was he _here_? Had he _followed_ her all this way, all this time?

She folded her arms, but she couldn't help but give him a small smile.

"Hello, Kakashi sensei."


	26. Alliances (Intermission Part Five)

The alarm blasted into Naruto's ears, and with a manic flinch he slammed his fist against the off switch. Six hours, supposedly, since he'd crashed here last night, but he felt as though it might as well have been two. His brain was still muddled, but his body, ever fueled by the damn fox, felt energetic and ready to go.

Which was good, because he knew what would happen to him if he was _late_.

He went straight to the shower to start, not even bothering to dry his hair after as he then went to this kitchen. Taped onto his fridge was a weekly schedule, and next to it a list of simple recipes. Today, he would heat up toast, eggs, and a fruit of his choice, along with carefully jarred jam, courtesy of the Akimichi clan.

Naruto would have just enough time to finish the last of his toast when a knock sounded on the door. Hastily, toast still halfway in his mouth, Naruto ran to his front door. First came on the boots, then his jacket, and finally his shinobi equipment; thirty seconds from the knock until Naruto opened the door.

Ino Yamanaka stood at the door, foot tapping impatiently as she stared at a wrist watch. "You could set your alarm five minutes earlier, you know."

"But I need every damn minute, Ino, you've seen how hard Pervy Sage's been working me." Naruto whined, locking his door behind him. "He's determined to kill me after I gave him the slip last month."

Ino gently knocked a fist against the side of Naruto's head. "Then maybe don't be so reckless next time, idiot."

Naruto laughed. They both knew reckless was Naruto's middle name.

With that, the two were off.

It was still dark, and the cold of winter had already begun to set in. Small flakes of snow had settled on the Konoha rooftops, but Naruto and Ino left no trace of footsteps as they flew through the night.

"Which one do you want to take today?"

"Well, I took Chouji yesterday, so this time you get him!" Naruto offered. Chouji was the easier of the two. All Ino would have to do to wake him up was wag some bacon in his general direction.

Shikamaru, however…

The Nara was a nightmare.

Ino seemed grateful for the reprieve, and as they approached the clan compounds, the two split off. The Nara compounds were peaceful, surrounded by woodland and generally quiet. Naruto had learned that Shikamaru wasn't the only one of his family with a lazy streak; it seemed more a clan trait.

With a small 'thud', Naruto landed on the roof of Shikamaru's house. If he could catch Shikamaru off guard, it would be easier...but the bastard would do anything for an extra hour of snoozing. Ino had claimed last time that Shikamaru had even gone so far as to set up traps.

For a lazy bastard, he sure was dedicated.

Jiraiya had taught Naruto how to begin making his chakra. It was a difficult feat for Naruto, as he had far more chakra than the average shinobi, so Naruto considered this a challenge in the works. He concentrated, pulling his energy inward, and sending a quick thought to the fox to keep his shit together.

He could have sworn he heard the fox grumble at that.

Quietly, Naruto reached for the latch on Shikamaru's window. Locked, but Ino had shown him basic lockpicking weeks ago. Any shinobi needed to know how to break into a home, she'd lectured, especially a team that specialized in infiltration. Naruto grabbed a couple of small tools from his pouch and popped the window open in less than a minute. Step one down.

He saw a bundle in the bed inside, wrapped up so tightly that he could barely tell it was Shikamaru. Naruto frowned. He'd been around this block before. Without bothering to be quiet now, he walked over to the bed and threw the covers off.

A wooden decoy.

That son of a bitch.

Now it became a game of tracking. Naruto only wished he had access to Kakashi's shinobi puppies, but what he _did _have was numbers. With a quick hand sign, he summoned a dozen clones.

"Scatter through the compound until we find him!"

There was a chorus of agreement, and then all twelve Narutos jumped through the window and into the night.

The final, original Naruto quickly hid inside Shikamaru's closet.

The past several times, Shikamaru had hidden himself in other buildings, once even in his own parents' room. If he had gone for a new hiding spot, he'd be found.

But Shikamaru was a smart guy, and something told Naruto that maybe this time, if he just waited…

There was movement underneath Shikamaru's bed, and after a moment Shikamaru himself crawled out with a yawn. He looked around before sleepily pulling himself into bed.

Naruto grinned.

"I CAUGHT YOU, LAZY ASS!"

Shikamaru flinched, flailing to get out of bed but failing as Naruto pounced on top of him. There was a brief struggle, a few punches and kicks thrown, before Shikamaru was promptly tossed into his closet by a triumphant Naruto.

"Get dressed and get ready for missions! Are you a chuunin or not?"

"I didn't ask for that troublesome promotion." He heard Shikamaru answer. "It was dumped on me. You can have it."

"Nu-uh. No getting out of this one, _Team Leader_."

Shikamaru grumbled, but when he came of the closet he was dressed and ready to go.

Ino had been equally successful. When they met at the front of Shikamaru's house, it was with Chouji in tow, munching on a similar piece of toast to the one Naruto had made that morning.

"Lucky you, getting Ino." Shikamaru grumped as they walked to the Hokage's office. "She won't give you a black eye first thing in the morning."

"Maybe if you didn't try to run away!" Naruto protested.

"If you brought me toast instead of violence, maybe I wouldn't run away."

"Lazy ass."

"Idiot."

Chouji laughed. "You know, mornings have been way more interesting since Naruto joined up."

* * *

Naruto's Super Fantastic Schedule for Becoming Hokage started with missions.

Unlike under Team 7, Shikamaru's squad focused on reconnaissance and capture missions, which Jiraiya claimed to be his specialty. Naruto had to focus on concealing himself, blending in, and learning how best to speak with others without giving evidence that he was really spying. His Henge jutsu proved invaluable; nobody, it seemed, could make a disguise better than Naruto could.

Naruto's job was to find the target. Chouji's job was to position the target. Shikamaru went for the capture, and Ino went for the interrogation. It worked...surprisingly well. It had taken Naruto several weeks to get anywhere remotely good enough at information gathering, but now he was certain he was the best damn spy in Konoha!

(Jiraiya insisted he had a long way to go, but Naruto knew better.)

Lunch with the team ended most missions, and then Naruto trudged up to Tsunade's office for Studying.

The woman was ruthless. Every day she sat him down with stacks of books about Konoha history, Konoha laws, governance, clans, trials...everything, she claimed, a Hokage would have to know in order to successfully run a village. She would quiz him relentlessly as he read, and every time he got a question wrong, she made him run a message across the village for her.

Naruto started out getting a lot of questions wrong.

But slowly he was finding that _some_ of it was beginning to sink. Even if he didn't know the exact details behind how the Aburame and the Nara had decided on clan borders, he was starting to remember the big picture. The laws began to look familiar. And the paperwork, the never ending paperwork that Tsunade seemed constantly drowning in, started to look less and less intimidating.

"This one is from a family applying for citizenship." Tsunade told him that afternoon. "So I have a job for you. You need to go and confirm that they've been living here as long as they've claimed, and make sure they aren't troublemakers."

Naruto loved it when Tsunade sent him on errands like this.

For one, it wasn't bookworm. But for two...well, at first he'd hated these missions. The locals refused to talk to him as always, and it had taken a bunch of pleading and claiming it was work for the Hokage until most people bothered to talk to him at all. But now, after weeks of running similar errands...things had changed. Some people smiled at him when they saw him rushing by. Some people even waved or greeted him. And most importantly, he didn't see people scowling anymore or muttering as he passed them.

Maybe Tsunade was a hardass when it came to studying, but sending him out here on these errands…

It made him feel like a part of something.

And perhaps that's why she continued to send him off, since Naruto always came back to her office with a big grin, ready to try and hit the books once again.

Dinnertime came quickly, and from there Jiraiya would take him out to one of the training grounds and work him to the bone.

Elemental manipulation was difficult for even jounin to master. Naruto was still barely a genin, and Jiraiya had talked him with taking the Rasengan, an S-ranked jutsu that he still needed a clone to help perform, and adding his wind element to it.

It had been weeks with no progress.

Evenings were the most frustrating part of the day. By then he was already tired from missions and running about, and he didn't want to waste energy on a jutsu that he wasn't even sure was possible.

But, as Jiraiya pointed out, it would be _really really _cool if he could figure it out.

(And that was all the motivation Naruto needed.)

Fire took strength from wind, wind negated lightning, lightning disabled earth, earth overtook water, and water quenched fire. Jiraiya pounded this concept into his head. Against Sasuke's chidori, Naruto would succeed using his wind element.

(But all Naruto could consider is that he could be the wind to fan Sasuke's flames and lead him to success.)

Naruto wondered, briefly, what elements Sakura might have. He'd have to ask her when Kakashi brought her back.

It had been months since Sakura had gone. Months. But Kakashi was going to bring her back soon…

Wasn't he?

* * *

For the first time since Sasuke had arrived in the Land of Sound, he was alone.

Orochimaru had a mission that required his extended absence, and Kabuto, of course, would be ever present at his side. Sasuke had secretly wanted to join them, if only to keep an eye on the snakes, but there was a certain relief in having the place to himself.

No more asinine genin missions. Just himself and his training.

(He should have known it was too good to last.)

As he meditated, he heard a knock on the door. Sasuke frowned, his chakra flaring up with anger at being disturbed. As the door swung open, his eyes flashed, Sharingan at the ready.

A shock of red hair and a slim figure...Karin.

Sasuke sighed and deactivated his Sharingan. He'd met Karin weeks ago, one of Orochimaru's lackeys that managed a different lair within Oto's borders. When he'd seen her last, she'd been smitten over him, trying to snuggle up close when Orochimaru wasn't looking.

Sasuke had never liked fangirls.

But Karin had a different look in her eyes as she approached him. She didn't seem smitten at all, only determined. She sat, cross legged in front of him.

"I'd been hoping to get a chance to talk to you alone. Too bad Orochimaru hovers around you like a vulture."

"I'm not interested in flirting, Karin." Sasuke growled. "Leave me be."

"Oh, I'm not either." Karin answered with a wave of her hand. "But when everyone thinks you're a lovesick puppy trailing in Orochimaru's footsteps, they're way less likely to suspect you of anything."

Sasuke blinked.

Alright, now things had gotten interesting.

"So what do you want?"

"I'm trying to gauge where you stand." Karib admitted. "If you're one of Orochimaru's perfect little angels or if you're here because you have to be. It's always one or the other, and from what I've heard, I kind of get the feeling it's the latter. You've got a brother that needs killing and Orochimaru is the only one who can train you to do it, am I right?"

Sasuke didn't answer, but that only brought a grin to Karin's face. Silence spoke as loud as words, it seemed.

"Oh goodie. I was hoping that was the case. Do you remember the chuunin exams, Sasuke? You rescued me after my team had died. When I heard you'd come to Orochimaru, I knew it couldn't have been because you were like him. You're far too nice."

Sasuke scoffed. "You don't know me very well, then."

"I'm not saying you're not strong. But you're not a psychopath. You don't get your kicks off of experimenting for him, and you sure as hell don't worship him. Which means, as soon as you've learned everything you can from the old snake…" Karin's eyes gleamed. "Yours and my interests will align."

"And what interests are those?"

"Putting the snake in the ground."

So she wanted to kill Orochimaru...that didn't surprise him. It seemed like half the people in Oto wouldn't have minded seeing Orochimaru dead.

"I can get strong enough to kill him on my own." Sasuke argued. "Why should I trust anyone else?"

"Because you're not thinking big picture." Karin replied. "Orochimaru is just a stepping stone to your brother. But once Orochimaru is dead, how are you going to _find_ your brother?"

Sasuke frowned. It was true...on that front, he had absolutely no idea.

"Now, if you helped me kill Orochimaru, and helped set me up at leader of Otogakure...I could arrange search teams to find your brother. Any resource you need, I'd give it. I look after my friends, Sasuke Uchiha, and I wouldn't forget the man who helped me come into power. You need your brother? I'll deliver. A home when your revenge is complete? I'll always have a spot for my friends. At the end of the day, helping me means nothing extra for you and _all_ of the extra benefits."

Tempting. Sasuke thought on this. He didn't trust Karin, not completely, but he did trust that she wanted Orochimaru dead.

Really...he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"I suppose I could cooperate, as long as you kept your word."

"Excellent." Karin pushed herself to her feet. "Then it is decided. I, Karin Uzumaki, will be the next Otokage! And once I am in charge, I will bring Itachi Uchiha to you. We have a deal?"

She held out a hand, and Sasuke reached up to take it. For a brief moment, his thoughts wandered. Uzumaki? He'd never heard of anyone but _Naruto_ with that last name, and maybe it was the way she was posturing about becoming a Kage, but something about her suddenly seemed…

Familiar.

He chuckled. Uzumaki were all the same, it seemed. Annoying, loud, and stupidly ambitious.

And now there were _two_ of them

"Deal." He confirmed. "So where do we begin?"

"You have two years, Uchiha. Milk as much knowledge out of the old snake as you can. When the time comes, we'll have a plan at the ready." Karin started for the door, but hesitated. Then, suddenly, she began to mess up her hair, and unbutton several of the buttons on her jacket. "It'll be less suspicious if everyone thinks we're sleeping together." She explained. "Though...if you ever _really_ want a good night…"

She gave Sasuke a wink and a kiss as she headed for the door. As she closed it behind her, Sasuke shuddered.

Women were absolutely terrifying sometimes.


	27. Chapter 27

It was surreal to see her sensei in such a vulnerable position in front of her. All of Sakura's memories of Kakashi had been of him standing strong against powerful opponents, Sharingan eye seeing through everything. A dozen shinobi had been needed to take him down, that much was enough to bring her some relief, but that Kakashi could be taken down at all was...jarring.

Never in her wildest imagination could she have pictured a scenario where Kakashi had been taken down, let alone with her on the other side, safely among her sensei's enemies. But they weren't _supposed_ to be enemies anymore, which was the real problem. Onoki wanted peace and cooperation between villages, and damn it all if Kakashi invading here wasn't just going to ruin all of that. She'd just started to get the Iwa villagers to trust her, just started to work on a plan for approaching Konoha and the other villages…

"Why are you here, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura decided to ask.

"I'm here for you, my precious student." Kakashi answered instantly. "Here I'd thought you'd left Konoha on some desperate quest to find information that would help Naruto and Sasuke, and instead I find you've stolen the Suna Jinchuuriki and defected to Iwagakure."

Sakura winced. "T-that isn't-"

"She didn't steal me." Gaara stepped in, answering in an angry tone. "I chose to follow her."

"Not how Suna sees it." Kakashi countered. "If not for the fact that they're trying to keep it a secret that you're no longer there, they would have sent a war party after you. As it stands, after the chuunin exams, they can't afford to spare the shinobi. They have to play it safe. Rebuild. Of course, it would have been easier if their northern citizens hadn't suddenly decided to rebel and make a new Plains village…"

Sakura winced again. "Alright, but in my defense, they'd defected before we got there. We just helped take out the guy who wanted to turn little kids into soldiers."

"Villages have been using children since their _founding_, Sakura. You've been meddling in foreign affairs without thinking of the consequences."

"Says the man tied up in an Iwa cell."

Sakura crossed her arms, and both she and Kakashi maintained eye contact for what seemed like an impossibly long time. Had he really just come here to lecture her? She was doing _way_ better than he was right now, and he hadn't even _heard_ about the neutrality pact she and Onoki had been-

"I'm glad you're okay, Sakura."

Kakashi's gaze suddenly softened, a look Sakura had seen on him only rarely. The jounin looked a lot smaller that way...small, vulnerable, worried…

Sakura's heart sank into her chest. She hadn't realized, hadn't even thought…

She'd convinced herself Naruto and Sasuke were the only ones on the team that Kakashi really thought about.

"I'm glad you didn't get killed on the way in, Kakashi-sensei."

She looked around before pulling up a chair, sitting down in front of him. Gaara was ever close, standing right by her side. He seemed wary of Kakashi, and that was probably fair. Even Sakura didn't know how this scenario was going to play out.

"If they wanted you dead, they would have killed you already." Sakura started to reason out. "Iwa's...in the process of working out some propositions that will hopefully lead to some peace between Iwa and Konoha...and everywhere else, if things go like we're planning."

"That's what they told you?"

"That's what they _mean_." Sakura insisted. "I know you told us to look underneath the underneath, Sensei, but I've done it a million times and I can't see how Iwa would benefit from this anymore than _every other village_ would. The Tsuchikage is tired of war, and with the threat Akatsuki poses, wouldn't it be a good thing if we didn't have other squabbles to distract us?"

"It sounds very convincing, Sakura, I'm sure, but you don't know these shinobi like I do." Kakashi argued. "The Tsuchikage is a terrifying strategist. He sees a lone little shinobi from Konoha heading this way, and maybe he thinks if he can say the right words, he can get some sort of leg up on Konoha. Information, or maybe something more."

"Well, it's not like I'd have anything to give him!" Sakura snapped. "Everything I know about the village I had to investigate on my own! The only reason I even know a _thing_ about Naruto is because I was his teammate! And oh, did you know about _Root_, Kakashi-sensei? Did you know that Konoha is _brainwashing children to be perfect, emotionless soldiers?_"

Kakashi fell silent at that. So he did know. Sakura could see it on his face. And if Kakashi knew, how many other shinobi knew?

How many other shinobi knew and did _nothing_?

"Maybe the Tsuchikage is using me." She continued with a small shrug. "But at least he's _teaching_ me. I've learned more about earth-style jutsu in the past couple weeks than anything _you_ or the _Academy_ ever taught me. Hell, I learned more about my own capabilities wandering around in the fucking _plains_ than back at Konoha. You would have had me sit on my ass waiting for _Naruto_ to get stronger."

"I didn't think you were _ready_!" Kakashi protested. "Sakura, you've always been…"

"What, emotional? Fragile? _Weak_?" Sakura was fuming now, and she couldn't help but stand, fist clenched. "Maybe I wouldn't have been weak if you hadn't only had eyes for the _boys_. You taught Sasuke the Chidori. Naruto had Jiraiya. I didn't have _anyone_."

And with that, Kakashi was quiet. He let his head hang, and for a moment Sakura felt...pity.

"You're right." He answered. "I should have been there for you too. That's why I'm here _now_, Sakura. I'm here to take you home. And...I'll speak with Tsunade. The two of us will still be Team Seven. We'll do missions together, and I'll...I'll teach you everything you want to know."

Sakura felt Gaara tense next to her, and his hand reached out to touch her own. He was worried. Worried Sakura would be tempted by the offer in front of her. Worried she'd leave him.

And Sakura couldn't _help_ but be tempted. Wasn't that what she had wanted all along? For Kakashi to notice her? To be able to stand side by side with the boys, equally strong, teammates? Kakashi was promising to _teach_ her. She could go back to Konoha.

...and she would leave _everything else_ behind.

Sakura realized, then and there, with a strange sort of finality, that she wasn't quite sure Konoha was where she was supposed to be.

She reached out to give Gaara's hand a reassuring squeeze before sitting down again, calmer now. "I think I might have wanted that once." She admitted. "But I've learned a lot since I've left the village, and...well, you can say I've made some friends I didn't expect. Even if I _did_ want to go back to Konoha, I can't abandon Gaara, and if Konoha took him in, that might lead to all out war with Suna over it."

"He _needs_ to go home, Sakura. The balance of the villages has been upset without him there. Every major shinobi village has Jinchuuriki and now Suna has none, and they _know_ you're the one who ran away with him. It's possible they might turn on Konoha again out of spite." Kakashi explained. "And think of what the other villages will think of us. Not one, but _two_ rogue shinobi so quickly after each other? They'll think Konoha is falling apart. You leaving us hasn't just affected me, it's affected _everyone_. And we're still recovering from the last war that got sent our way." Kakashi took a deep breath. "We need shinobi. We need you. And while I'd rather come with you willingly, if I have to take you back by force, I _will_."

Sakura flinched. Kakashi was so determined, almost terrifyingly so, and Sakura knew that if Kakashi were set free, she wouldn't be able to stop him from taking her back. She wasn't strong enough. She didn't want to _be_ strong enough. This was her _sensei_, and she should have been happy to see him again, but now she was just…

Sour.

"If you're just here to take me back, Kakashi-sensei, you can forget about it and go home." Sakura finally answered. "Konoha didn't give a fuck about me until I left. But the Tsuchikage...he thinks I can be strong. And not only that, he thinks I can help bring peace to the shinobi villages. And if I can make the world a better place, shouldn't I?" Sakura stood up again, taking a sharp breath. She wouldn't get mad, she told herself, not now, not _now_. "If I can make a world where Jinchuuriki can be accepted, where they don't have to worry about being hunted down by S-class shinobi, shouldn't I? If I can make a world where...where shinobi don't get driven so mad that they _kill their entire clan_, shouldn't I? If I can make a world where Naruto and Sasuke can be safe and happy, then I'm _going_ to. And if Konoha isn't going to help me reach that goal...then I'm not going to be a part of Konoha anymore. Not Konoha, not Iwa, not any village. I'm just gonna be me, and I'm going to do whatever I can for the people I care about."

She was still too emotional, so Sakura turned, not wanting to look Kakashi in the eye any longer.

"A wise shinobi once told me that those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are even worse than that."

"Sakura…"

Sakura headed for the door without another word, Gaara close behind her. She was greeted by Onoki and the others outside, all of whom looked grave.

"He's just here to take me back." Sakura insisted. "He wasn't here for anything else. He might have thought you were holding me prisoner or something, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to sneak in."

"That's all well and good, but we can't just let him go. The village will think us weak." Kurotsuchi explained. "We have to keep him prisoner until we can discuss this with Konoha's Hokage. She can't just send shinobi into our borders right now without risking war."

"I know." Sakura nodded. "Let me...let me think of something. I just need time to think."

She needed time to _breathe_. Thankfully, nobody stopped her as she made her way out of the building and into the crisp air. Gaara merely followed, not more than a couple steps behind, and after a moment she heard Sai's soft steps as well.

She was...angry. And she hadn't expected to be so angry upon seeing her old sensei again, but Sakura had never been terribly good at hiding her emotions and it seemed as though, after all this time, that hadn't changed. Even as she stomped her way back to their apartment, she fumed and muttered and cursed.

"I should be happy!" She said aloud, pacing back and forth in their living room. "Kakashi comes all this way just to bring me back to Konoha, further than anyone ever went for Sasuke. But if he'd just talked to me _before_ I'd left, maybe I wouldn't have needed to leave at all. Nobody gave a damn about me until I left my stupid village!"

"You're right." Sai commented from his spot on a couch. "Nobody thought a genin fresh out of the academy worth sparing excess resources for. That's just poor management."

"Sai…" Gaara warned.

"Should I lie?" Sai countered. "Say we all loved her so very much when it's clear to her that they didn't? I'm only here because of her connection to the Uchiha, and now to keep an eye on a potential political relation with Iwa. Nothing in my mission parameters ever paid much mind to her specifically until she started _making_ herself important. Shinobi are tools to be used as the village sees fit. Konoha doesn't care about her feelings. It doesn't care about whether or not she's happy or safe. All it cares about is keeping the village strong and prosperous. Kakashi was sent to retrieve you because we've experienced a shortage of shinobi since the war, and every person counts."

"And that's _bullshit_, Sai. It's complete bullshit!"

Sakura had clenched her fists again, but she had stopped her pacing. "People can't live like this. People can't live just being things."

"Maybe you believe so. But that's the way things are. There's no point getting upset about things you already know."

Sai was...right. She should have known. Should have seen it. She wasn't given the time of day because she wasn't strong like Naruto and Sasuke. She hadn't made it to the finals of the chuunin exam. She hadn't been able to protect her village from war beyond pointlessly chasing after Sasuke. She was an average shinobi _at best_, so why would they waste time cultivating someone who would never excel? Waste time encouraging her when she would never be…

"I guess I'd just hoped." Sakura admitted. "Hoped that Konoha was better than that."

"It will be."

Gaara stepped in front of Sakura, looking her in the eyes. "Look at me." I insisted. "I used to be what they wanted. A tool. A weapon. A monster. But you did what they wouldn't. You made something human out of me. With you...with you I've felt joy and peace. With you, I felt..._real_. So even if Konoha is troubled now, even if Suna and Iwa and the rest of the world need fixing...I know we can fix it. You showed me how."

"Gaara, I-"

"I want to start Onoki's neutrality project." Gaara continued. "I want to be the bridge between everyone. I want to show them what you and Naruto showed me. That there _is_ a better path. We don't have to live in a world where children are made into monsters. We will...we will make a world of _love_."

Sakura's eyes flickered to the mark on Gaara's forehead, bright red against the boy's pale skin. And then, before she could react, Gaara had reached forward and hugged her.

He was warm and solid around her, like a mountain against her shaking body. Sakura was shocked, at first, but couldn't help but wrap her arms around him in turn. Tears finally began to escape her eyes, and she clung tighter as sob after sob left her throat.

She didn't know how much time passed before she finally let go, but it had been more than enough. She wiped her eyes and gave Gaara a reassuring smile.

"I'll...be alright. And you're right. That's why I'm here, isn't it? I wanted to help Naruto and Sasuke at first, but...then I met you, and all the others...they're all people that deserve happiness too. Even...even _you_, Sai. We deserve a peaceful world but someone has to make it first, no matter what it takes."

And it started here, in Iwagakure, with Onoki's project, and…

With keeping Kakashi safe.

"I have an idea." She realized. "An idea that will work out for everyone."

"About time." Sai answered. "I'd thought you were just going to cry here all day."

Sakura chuckled. "Sai, you can be a real ass sometimes, you know?"

"Putting it lightly." Gaara mumbled.

"But...thank you, for what you said. You're right. I need to stop romanticizing my village. I need to really see how the world treats its shinobi, otherwise I'll never be able to fix it."

Sai watched her for a moment before quickly looking back down to his book. "...I was just stating the obvious." He insisted.

"Maybe so. But sometimes people need to hear it."

Sai didn't answer as he stood up from the couch, putting away his small notebook. But when they reached the door, he spoke again, this time more softly.

"I'll be curious to see what this world of love will be like."

"Oh?" Sakura looked back at Sai, intrigued.

"If it's anything like you and Gaara, then…" Sai put a finger to his chin, thoughtfully. "I should expect people to be grumpy or crying."

Sakura grimaced, but as she looked at Sai, she realized…

Was he just teasing them?

"You're an idiot, Sai."

* * *

"Alright Kakashi-sensei. You've got two options."

Sakura stood in front of Kakashi again, arms crossed, attempting to look on charge, professional. If she was going to be heading this project, she needed to work on her 'in charge face'.

"Alright." Kakashi answered. "I have two options."

"Your first option is that you've come here under Konoha orders to infiltrate Iwa and retrieve me from their borders. This option will have you remain in this cell as a prisoner and bring about a possible declaration of war from Iwa, as they have proof of Konoha willingly breaking peace treaty agreements."

"So, the first option is...the reason I'm here." Kakashi deduced, frowning through his mask. "Sakura, I don't see-"

"Option two!" Sakura interrupted. "Is that there was a terrible misunderstanding."

"...ah."

"Because you actually came here as an _ambassador_ to Konoha to speak with Iwa regarding a new group it is spearheading. A group of neutral shinobi that will act as an in-between for the shinobi villages and help them settle disputes before they can turn bad enough to lead to war."

"Wait, Sakura, wh-"

"You know about this project because, being a former Konoha shinobi, I have sent the Hokage a missive detailing the goals of this group and hoped she might be able to send someone to help us iron out a system that will be beneficial for every village, not just Iwagakure."

"Sakura!"

"_And_." Sakura finished. "You were sent here because you are my former sensei, someone that I know and trust, and that I'd had a good relationship with in the past. It is my hope that, between the two of us and the Tsuchikage, that we will be able to draft a treaty that will outline the beginnings of an alliance between all of the shinobi villages on the continent. This draft will permanently solidify borders, outline trade routes, and determine clauses for which villages will help each other in times of need. We will hopefully get the leader of the Plains village involved as well, and upon completion of the draft I will take the draft to every village and run it by every leader until terms have been agreed upon and finalized by me. Every village that signs onto the treaty will be privy to its benefits and beholden to its agreements, or else risk war with every other village involved in the signing." Sakura took a deep breath, and then gave Kakashi a sheepish grin. "That's...what Onoki and I have been working on anyway. I think it'll go a long way towards helping restore relations between Iwa and Konoha if there's a shinobi from each village working on the project to start. Plus, it will set an example for all of the other villages. If Iwa and Konoha can put aside their differences, anyone can. Regardless...you're not taking me back, and...well, I'd rather not be forced to try and cool down a spat between Iwa and Konoha so early into my career as an ambassador, just because my sensei won't take no for an answer."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, you're admittedly putting me in a difficult spot, Sakura."

"Difficult to say no, you mean?"

"It implies my student is going to be heading into villages that are otherwise our enemy, on the vain hope that every single one of them won't kill her on sight as a trespassing shinobi, and that _somehow_ each of them will agree to this proposition."

"At least I'm doing _something_ instead of sitting around waiting for the grass to grow."

"That you are." Kakashi leaned back in his chair, letting out an even deeper sigh. "And here I thought you were the least troublesome of my students. I'd thought to myself, there's no _way_ that Sakura could have gotten involved with anything more troubling than Orochimaru. She's just gone for a little road trip to find herself, and I'll have her back in no time."

"This isn't even the most troubling thing I've done this month." Sakura admitted. "I met up with two of Akatsuki on the way here."

Kakashi's head flopped forward, eye widened. "You _what_?"

"One of them gave me this necklace." Sakura held up the amulet of Jashin around her neck for Kakashi to see. "He's also might be immortal. Not sure yet. I sent all the information I found to Tsunade, and I've told it all to the Tsuchikage as well. Knowledge about Akatsuki is going to be very valuable to every village with a Jinchuuriki, so if I tell them that I'll share everything I know if they listen to my neutrality proposition, they're probably going to want to listen, right?"

"...maybe so."

"Well?"

"Well, it doesn't seem like I have a choice." Kakashi admitted. "Option two. For now."

"Option two. For now." Sakura agreed. She looked back towards the door. "Gaara, can you ask them to come untie Konoha's ambassador? There's been a _big_ misunderstanding, you see."

* * *

The table was quiet.

On one side, Sakura and Gaara sat close together. Gaara hadn't touched his food, likely because Kakashi hadn't touched his either. Gaara watched Kakashi, and Kakashi watched Sai. (Sai, thankfully, was more than happy to dig into his meal, and Sakura was getting increasingly grateful for the fact that the boy wasn't unnerved by anything.)

"When you mentioned Root, I'd thought it was because you'd fought _off_ the agent that had been sent to investigate you."

"Well that would have been rude." Sakura replied, also more than happy to dig into a meal after an emotionally exhausting day. "After all, I didn't have anything to hide, and if the leader of Root hears about the treaty, it's not like there will be much they can do to stop it from happening."

"You're _severely_ underestimating Root."

"Sai's my friend." Sakura insisted. "I trust him to speak well of me and help Root understand the importance of this."

"That you would trust a member of Root in such a way more than implies that you are _definitely_ not ready to be an ambassador."

"It's not Root that I trust. It's Sai."

"Sai _is_ Root."

"Sai is Sai."

"Sai is getting tired of people talking about him like he isn't there." Sai spoke up, his usual fake smile plastered onto his face. "Danzo is more than eager to see how the neutrality project develops, and I am on orders to keep an eye on the progress of the project and see how Sakura brings it together. Such information will be vital to the village, especially if other villages begin to join in on this project."

Kakashi's eye narrowed, and he continued to watch Sai. And Gaara continued to watch Kakashi. And Sakura wondered if this was ever going to work.

With a groan of annoyance, she stood up and began to make her way outside. She could do with a walk.

This was only the latest of conversations that Hadn't Gone Well today. Though Onoki had done his best to appear non-threatening, it was hard when the man clearly held animosity towards Kakashi. (No doubt because of the last war.) If this was what it was going to be like trying to get all the Kage to communicate with each other, Sakura _wasn't_ sure this project was going to work. The only consolation she had was that the two men hadn't tried to kill each other. She'd known this was going to be hard work, but...seeing things in _action_…

"I don't trust him." Gaara commented, as always following close behind her.

"You think he's going to take me away from you." Sakura corrected. "And he won't. Even if he did, I'd find my way back. I'm not sending you back to Suna and I'm not going back to Konoha unless it's to get Tsunade on board with this project, and in that case you'll be coming there with me."

"...I know. But he's strong. And we don't know what he's planning now that he's free."

"No, we don't." Sakura admitted. "But...I wish I did. I used to trust him more than anything. He was my sensei. He'd keep me safe from the world if he had to. And…"

And he'd make sure Sasuke never left.

She hadn't realized how simple things had been before Kakashi showed up. But she supposed she was going to have to face Konoha one way or another if she was going to be an ambassador. Better now than later, when her village had grown even more bitter to her leaving.

Though it was a cold night, it didn't bother Sakura as much anymore. She'd grown used to seeing her breath form white clouds in front of her face, and the hard crunch of the frozen ground beneath her feet. She didn't wince like she used to when she sat upon a cold rock, and her body didn't shiver as the wind blew through her. And that was with only a couple weeks of being here.

Stronger, she reminded herself. She was getting stronger. And she just had to show Kakashi that, show him that this was _worth_ it.

She didn't have to wait long for her chance.

Kakashi had followed her out onto the mountainside. He didn't show any sign of being cold, though whether that was strength of will or actual strength of body, Sakura wasn't sure. Regardless, he still looked small as he approached her. Small and regretful.

He sat down on a rock next to her and pulled out one of his books.

Sakura frowned. "Is now really the best time to be reading your smut, Sensei?"

"I want to know how it ends." Kakashi admitted.

"You've been reading that one since I became a genin."

"I'm a slow reader."

"And you're also full of shit."

"Alright, alright." Kakashi flipped a page. "Maybe it's easier to talk to people when I've got a book in my hand. And I'm not quite sure how to talk to you right now. You're not the Sakura I remember."

"No." Sakura agreed. "I'm not. But that doesn't mean we have to...I mean, I know I got mad, but…" She huffed. "Well, I feel like I had a valid reason to be mad, you know? But you're still my sensei and I can't hate you for what you did. Naruto and Sasuke were assets to the village. A Jinchuuriki and the heir to a powerful Kekkei Genkai, one that you share. And then there's me, a civilian born kunoichi who could barely stand on her own in the chuunin exams. I get it. There wasn't much encouragement to help me succeed when it was clear I'd never be them."

"That's definitely how the village would see it." Kakashi nodded. "And...how I would have seen it. How I probably did see it. But...I should have known better. Every time I put the village before my comrades, it backfires. But even when I try for the people I care about, it backfires too." He turned a page of his book, blushing slightly as he did. "Well...maybe I wasn't really meant to be a sensei. I protested it, when the Third first put me in the rotation. I didn't want children to look after. I just wanted to do my job, protect the village, do what I was good at doing. But...well, I'm not even really very good at that."

"I find that hard to believe." Sakura argued. "You're one of the strongest shinobi I know."

"...do you remember that gravestone I showed you, on the day of your bell test?"

"Yes?"

"Two of those were my comrades that I couldn't protect. My genin squad, when I was first enlisted as a shinobi."

Sakura grew quiet. She'd never even thought about Kakashi being on a genin squad. Never thought about him having teammates, partners...even now, she could barely picture it.

"Obito Uchiha." Kakashi began. "Gave his life to protect me from a boulder trap. It was my first mission as a jounin commander, my last mission with my old team. We were deep into war with Iwa, and we'd been tasked with destroying a vital bridge across a Kusa river. Destroying it would cut off a supply line for Iwa, you see. But...destroying that bridge eventually fell to the Fourth Hokage, Minato. My own sensei and team leader. At the time, the other member of my team, Rin Nohara, had been captured by enemy shinobi. She was a medic-nin, highly valued for her skill and as a bargaining chip. I had elected to abandon her in favor of the mission. Obito elected to return and save her. Eventually, I came around to the right way of thinking and went to help...but I missed it. The trap. And Obito, in his selflessness, saved me from death, and with his own dying breath gave me his Sharingan eye." Kakashi pulled up his headband, his eyes wincing slightly as the cold air hit them. "As for Rin, in that same war, she was captured again, and forcibly made a Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi. She chose to throw herself in front of my Chidori rather than be used as a tool against our village. I...saw her die on my hand."

Sakura looked over, noticing that the book Kakashi was holding was shaking slightly. She hadn't known. How _could_ she have known? Two teammates, lost to war. But…

"Then you should understand better than anyone why we should try to stop wars before they happen."

"I wish the world was that easy, Sakura." Kakashi answered. "I wish the Kage would all just sign a treaty and promise not to fight ever again. But even with that treaty, you don't know how things will go. It's all just words and false promises. Shinobi need something bigger than themselves to unite them, something bigger than the villages and the Kage. I'm not sure anything's that big." Kakashi's hand slowly steadied, and he turned another page of his book. "At least, that's what I might have thought."

"Might have?"

"Sakura, what I'm about to tell you is something that will never leave this mountainside."

Kakashi's tone had shifted, and suddenly he wasn't looking at his book at all, but at her. Sakura couldn't help but nod. She looked back at Gaara briefly.

"He can hear this too, if you trust him." Kakashi continued. "Discussing the death of the Fourth Hokage is strictly forbidden within the village. But you're no longer declaring yourself part of the village, and if you're going to dive into this, you need to know."

"Need to know what, Sensei?"

"My theory. My theory that Naruto's birth was sabotaged so that the Kyuubi could break free and destroy Konoha. My theory that the Fourth didn't die just because of the Kyuubi's power, but that there was someone there, behind the scenes, manipulating everything."

Sakura froze. The implication of that… "Orochimaru?" She asked tentatively.

"I'm not sure." Kakashi admitted. "But there was no reason that the Kyuubi should have broken free. We took every precaution. There were Anbu everywhere, skilled midwives to help with the birth, and Minato himself was there to ensure the seal on Kushina Uzumaki did not break. The only thing that makes sense was that someone else was involved, and helped ensure that the seal _did_ break." Kakashi, closed his book, looking out, instead, over Iwagakure in front of them. "...my belief, and the belief of Lord Jiraiya, is that someone from Akatsuki might have been involved."

"Akatsuki." Sakura nodded. "They use the Kyuubi to destroy Konoha, and then take the Kyuubi for themselves. But it backfired, because the Fourth managed to seal the Fox inside of Naruto."

"At the cost of his life." Kakashi nodded.

"But if they were willing to attack Konoha so directly, they could attack any other village. Itachi already infiltrated Konoha to try and kidnap Naruto. What if they try something here? Or with Gaara? Or-" Sakura hesitated. "Wait...this is what you were talking about. Something bigger than village squabbles. Something that could unite shinobi. Akatsuki is the bigger threat."

"Exactly."

Sakura looked over to her sensei, confused. "But...does that mean you support what I'm trying to do? Why are you trying to help me?"

"Sakura…" Kakashi shook his head. "Don't you get it by now? You're my precious student. Even if I don't agree...I can't be selfish. A peace treaty, even if it's just between Iwa and Konoha, could be groundbreaking for our village. And if it's what you feel you need to do, then as your sensei, I need to support you. A sensei is supposed to raise their students up, not bring them down. Something I should have known when I first was assigned to Team Seven. Something I don't plan on forgetting."

Sakura could have cried right then and there, but instead she found herself running to Kakashi's side, throwing her arms around him. "Thank you, sensei. Thank you, _thank you_."

Kakashi seemed embarrassed, unsure of how to react to Sakura's sudden presence. He gently patted her head. "Well, you're not out of the woods yet. I need to make sure you're really ready to be out here on your own. As your sensei, if I allowed you to go into this unprepared…"

"So, what?" Sakura let go of Kakashi with a frown. "You gonna make me try and steal some bells from you again?"

"Actually…" Kakashi's eyes indicated a smirk. "That sounds like a _wonderful_ idea."

"...wait, what?"

* * *

Morning hit, and Sakura and Gaara faced Kakashi in the middle of a large Iwa training ground. In the distance, Sakura could barely see Onoki and Kurotsuchi, as well as two older men that Gaara had introduced to her as Han and Roshi, the Iwa Jinchuuriki. An audience.

Great.

Kakashi had set a small timer on top of a log, and placed two bells upon his hip. Frighteningly nostalgic. "I heard from the leader of the Plains village that you took on someone who could use Magnet Release." He called out to Sakura. "I also heard you've been studying earth-jutsu under the Third Tsuchikage himself. Couple that with your new Jinchuuriki partner, it shouldn't be any trouble for you to get these bells, right?"

"...right." Sakura answered, absolutely not certain she'd be able to. The last time she'd faced Kakashi, he'd caught her in a genjutsu and she hadn't even managed to come _close_.

But she wasn't that kunoichi anymore.

_And_ she had Gaara with her.

"You have until noon." Kakashi told them. "And if you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you'll never get the bells. If you can get them, I'll concede that you're ready to start spearhead the neutrality project. If not...then I will tell Lady Tsunade that she should push for a different ambassador."

Ugh, that was even _worse_.

But she couldn't let this set her back. She'd come so far. She'd learned so much. And son of a bitch, she was going to _get_ those bells even if it meant she had to take the beating of her life to do it.

She was slightly shocked to see Kakashi raise his headband up, revealing his Sharingan eye. "And this time, you don't get easy mode." Kakashi warned. "You're out in the real world now, and the real world won't hold back."

"Alright." Sakura agreed. "Just tell me when you're ready."

"...begin!"

Sakura and Gaara moved simultaneously. They'd had time to plan, at least, and Sakura had spent a good portion of the evening before going over strategy and ways to approach Kakashi. Don't look him in the eye unless you wanted your techniques copied. (This applied more to her; she doubted Kakashi could ever manipulate sand like Gaara did.) Move fast and be unpredictable. Above all else, aim to get close. Aim to get the bells.

Both of them slammed their hands down to the ground at the same time. At once, two things happened. Sand rushed forward from Gaara's gourd, rushing towards Kakashi's feet. He would have to jump away, Sakura had theorized, and it was harder to dodge when you were in the air. As Kakashi jumped, Sakura formed a pillar from the earth beneath him. (Inceptisol soil, ice as well as earth, she had to put in extra chakra to push the earth as well as the ice surrounding it…) It shot up, about a foot shorter than she intended, but still high enough to slam into Kakashi's body.

The body disappeared with a puff of smoke. A substitution.

Right. She'd expected that. With a smile, Sakura formed her hand-signs and sent out a sensing pulse. Kakashi's chakra signature was approximately five feet below the earth.

_Bad_ _idea_, she thought to herself.

But the signature was moving closer, she realized. Kakashi intended to attack them from below, perhaps burying her in the earth much like he had done with Sasuke during the first bell test. "Below us!" She called out to Gaara. Without another word, Gaara summoned a layer of sand beneath them, lifting them into the air. They moved up just in time to see Kakashi burst out from the ground beneath them.

Double bad idea. Now he was close.

Knowing Gaara would cover her, Sakura leapt down from the sand raft, aiming to reach for the bells while Kakashi was distracted. The jounin twisted away just in time, but not before Sakura felt the cool touch of metal beneath her fingers.

Damn. She'd been _close_.

But also, _damn_. _She'd been close_.

"That was as far as Sasuke got." Kakashi admitted as he hopped away from her. "But that's still not close enough."

"We're just getting started." Sakura grinned.

Her grin only lasted for another half an hour. From there, it was frowning, and then frustration. Kakashi was _fast_. His Sharingan could see her moves before they happened. Even with Gaara's sand able to reach far distances and cover most of the ground, Kakashi managed to dance and jump just out of reach, bells ever present at his side. By the time there was an hour left on the timer, Sakura had touched the bells five times and Gaara had touched them twice.

Her only consolation was that Kakashi was looking tired too. But she'd used up almost all of her chakra on this fight, and unless she wanted to drain herself completely, she was down to nothing but her fists and her wits.

"I'll admit. You've gotten much stronger." Kakashi commented to them. "I'm not questioning anymore how you managed to take that Magnet Release shinobi down."

"Then just give up and let me have the bells." Sakura retorted. "Then we can get some lunch and you can go back to your smut."

"Not a chance." Kakashi shook his head. "I told you, you had to prove yourself. An ambassador needs to be able to think quickly, adapt to any situation, and be able to defend herself from potential assassins. If you can't do this simple task…"

"We can do it!" Sakura insisted. "I just need...five seconds to catch my breath."

"Maybe you're the one that should be thinking about giving up, if you need to take a break."

"Never." Sakura insisted. "I'm not giving up, Kakashi. I'll show you everything I've accomplished since I left Konoha, and I'm going to get those damn bells. You won't be able to stop me!"

Big words, but Sakura wasn't sure she could follow up. He'd managed to dodge every single one of our techniques. The only thing she could do was catch him so completely off guard that he wouldn't even have a chance to react. Something that no one in their right mind would suspect.

She straightened herself up, ready to try once again, when all at once something flew at Kakashi from behind.

A small, black and white bird snatched the two bells from Kakashi's waist. It soared over to Sakura and landed on her shoulder. As she reached up, confused, it dropped the bells into her hand.

"Traditionally, the bell test is done with one jounin leader facing off against three students." Sai's voice sounded as he landed next to her. "You couldn't hope to win if it was two against one. But since you tired him out and kept him distracted, that let me finish the job. Three against one, as intended." He turned to Sakura, smile at the ready. "And now I don't owe you anymore for saving my life." Then, so subtly Sakura almost missed it, his smile softened.

It looked...genuine.

"Sai, you beautiful bastard." Sakura threw an arm around the shinobi's shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. "We did it, Kakashi! We got your stupid bells!"

"I think that's technically cheating…" Kakashi protested.

"You never said I couldn't call for help! And isn't it an ambassador's job to make friends?" Sakura laughed, pulling Gaara into the hug as well. "Now you have to accept us as ambassadors and support the project! You promised!"

"Us?" Sai asked. "I'm still part of Konoha, you know."

"You helped get the bells. You're stuck with us now, Sai, you can't deny it anymore. We're friends and you know it."

This time, Sai didn't protest. And something about this, the three of them, enjoying a victory together...something about it felt _right_.


	28. Act One Epilogue

"_My sources in Sunagakure have informed me that the Ichibi Jinchuuriki has gone rogue. The last time he was seen was over a month ago."_

"_So first we lose the Kyuubi, now the Ichibi? Next you're going to tell me the Three-Tails just up and wandered out of the damn pool you left it in."_

"_Quiet, Hidan."_

"_You be quiet, motherfucker. If I see the Ichibi, I'll drag him here myself. I'm tired of playing the waiting game. When are we going to get to __**kill**_ _some people?"_

"_Patience. Our funding is almost in place. Once we have our containment built, we will proceed with the capture of the Jinchuuriki, and you may kill whomever you'd like to get to them."_

"_And just how long will this construction take, hn? How many more odd jobs do we need to take before we're ready to move forward?"_

"_If our current rate holds, we will be ready in two years. Until then, continue with your duties, and track down our missing Jinchuuriki. We cannot fail in our mission. Go forth, and do not allow yourself to be distracted from our goals."_

* * *

The hologram faded, and young woman with hair as blue as the sky looked up forlornly at the falling rain.

"Nagato…" She whispered to herself.

_Is this really what he would have wanted?_


	29. Act Two Prologue

**Act Two: Roots**

* * *

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I guess, first and foremost, I want you to know that I'm okay. _

_I don't expect you to understand why I had to leave. I've kept a lot of my shinobi life from you in the past, some of it because I had to, but some of it because I wasn't sure you'd want to know what it meant for your daughter to be a shinobi. _

_The world is a dangerous place. Our people have been at war since before the founding of our villages. Since I've left home, I've come to see that unless someone acts, this trend of death and destruction will not cease. I know it may be hard to believe, but where I am right now, I'm working to make things a better place for everybody. If all goes well, I'll be helping forge a peace treaty that might prevent war from ever happening again._

_It might seem optimistic, but I have to hold out hope that one day nobody I care for will ever have to be caught up in violence ever again. I'm doing this for you, for Konoha, for everyone. _

_I miss you both, and I hope you're well. If everything goes as planned, I'll be visiting Konoha sometime in the future, and I can explain everything further then. Until then…_

_Love you,_

_Sakura_

* * *

_Ino,_

_I know you probably have a lot of questions for me. And maybe a lot of yelling. But I promise, I have an explanation for everything. What I'm working on is sensitive, but I'm hoping it will set the foundation for an era of peace in the shinobi world._

_Maybe that's a little heavy. I promise I'll explain everything more when I get to Konoha, which should be soon. _

_More importantly, I wanted to let you know that I'm okay. I'd been thinking about you, recently. More specifically, I was thinking about when we were little. I still have that ribbon you gave me to hold up my hair. I've been using it, since I left my forehead protector behind. It's funny, thinking about how I used to be back then. I was so shy and timid, but since I've left I've been to three different countries, and I've even been training under the Tsuchikage! I've been learning some awesome jutsu that'll even show up your Mind Transfer! _

_I'll show you when I get to Konoha. I've got so many amazing things to tell you about._

_I heard Naruto's been spending time with your team from Kakashi-sensei. I know he can be a bit much at times, but he's strong and reliable. He'll also eat nothing but ramen if you let him, so make sure he eats something healthy every now and then! And if he gets distracted or unruly, you can motivate him by telling him that whatever you're doing will help him get stronger. _

_I miss you. And I promise, I'll see you soon._

_Sakura_

* * *

_Lee,_

_I know this might seem out of the blue, but ever since I've left the village, I've wanted to talk with you. I don't know what the village has said about me or why I've left, but all you need to know is that I had to leave, in order to get stronger. One day, I hope I'll be strong enough to keep the people I love safe. I figured you of all people would be able to understand that. I will come back to Konoha soon, but for now, just know that I'm training to be a better shinobi._

_I actually wanted to thank you. I've been keeping up the training routine you taught me ever since I left! It was really difficult at first, but every day I could feel myself getting stronger. And now, I've got a new routine that I've been working on, and I bet it'll even blow you away! Next time I'm in Konoha, I'll show you what I've been up to, and maybe we can even spar together! _

_You're in my thoughts, Lee,_

_Sakura_

* * *

_Naruto,_

_There's a lot I need to tell you, about why I left. I know it must have hurt you, especially so soon after…_

_I heard you went back to Konoha. I think that's for the best. How can you hope to become the best Hokage if you leave and the village forgets about you? I know you can still train while you're there, and if you keep doing missions, you'll be a jounin by the time I'm back! And I will come back, I promise. And when I do, I'll be stronger too. We'll be able to take down Orochimaru together and make sure Sasuke's safe, and if what I've been working on comes to fruition, we'll be able to take down Akatsuki too. I know I'm being vague right now but...I'm not sure who might get ahold of this, and I'm not sure who we can trust._

_Naruto, Kakashi told me you've been apprenticing with Lady Tsunade. That's really great! But promise me...if you see a man named Danzo, promise me you'll keep your guard up? He's worked for the village for a really long time, but that doesn't mean he can be trusted. _

_Stay safe, Naruto. I'm always thinking of you. When I get back to Konoha, I'll tell you everything I've been up to, and we'll fix everything together._

_Sakura_

* * *

_Sasuke,_

_I don't know if this will even reach you. But if it does, I just want you to know…_

_I think I understand now why you had to leave the village. In the past few months, I've learned so much about how the world is, and...it's not great. Of course, you already know that. You've lived through the worst possible tragedy this world has to offer. I understand why you think that Orochimaru is the only one that will help you get strong enough to defeat Itachi. I understand why you couldn't accept Konoha as your home._

_I understand, but...in some things, I think, you were wrong. But words aren't going to show you that, are they?_

_I'm getting stronger, Sasuke. And I'm getting stronger because of my bonds, not in spite of them. _

_I'm going to find you, Sasuke. And I'm going to show you._

_Sakura_


	30. Chapter 30

Dark eyes scanned through the branches of thick conifers, coming to rest on a single flash of color amongst the green.

The bird had yet to notice his presence. It let out a series of high pitched chirps, puffing out the red feathers on its chest as it did so. It bounced back and forth from branch to branch, across from a similar looking bird with far more modest colors.

He dipped his brush into the dark ink and let his brush fly across the page. In a series of several connected strokes, he had an outline, and from there some carefully placed detail-work began to bring the bird to life. Birds, he could do. It was almost like second nature, and even though these birds weren't native to Konoha, birds were genuinely built the same. Similar body types, similar pattern of how feathers lay across the animal...this little bird was easy to recreate. Effortless. Even with such a strange pose, he'd captured the detail perfectly.

Sai frowned.

He glanced downwards towards the forest floor. In the distance, a small mountain river flowed, a quiet babble against the wind and the birdcall that otherwise dominated. A shadow could be seen in the river, and after a moment a mess of pink hair burst forth from the water, taking in a gasping breath. The water was likely ice cold, but it didn't seem to phase the kunoichi. She swam in this river every day, starting at the base of the mountain at the crack of dawn and swimming as far as her body could take her. Up here, the river continued for about another hundred feet before reaching a series of caverns. Rainwater pooled from the mountain's peak and flowed into the river from its heights. Without going into the cavern, it was the furthest one could swim up the river. By Sai's calculation, Sakura had swam more than a mile.

She shook her head, sending cold water through the air as she continued to take gasping breaths. She would need a moment to catch her breath before coming to shore.

Sai stuck his brush into the ink, a look of genuine frustration on his face as he quickly began to paint.

Human forms were simple. He could do the outline of a head, of a body, of clothes..._simple. _He could, at this point, draw the curves of Sakura's building muscles in his sleep. If one looked through his notebook, they would find dozens upon dozens of his 'trials', from the very first week of his being in Iwa to now, months later. Sakura could have passed for a different person at this point. When she'd arrived here, she'd looked the part of a timid girl. Now, bursting forth from the river, she looked more the part of a warrior. Sai watched as a smile of relief passed over Sakura's face, and _that_ was it, _that_ was the part he just couldn't get, no matter how many times he tried.

Sai gritted his teeth as he put the tip of his brush to the paper. Why, after all this time, why couldn't he get a simple _facial expression_ right?

He was supposed to be a gatherer of information. When he had been sent out from Konoha, Danzo had entrusted him to gather information about Sakura Haruno, about the Jinchuuriki Gaara, about Iwagakure, about _anything_ he could get his hands on, but if he couldn't reproduce the face of one girl, what did that mean about him? If he could sketch a _bird_, but not the object of his investigation, could he really be considered a proper investigator at all?

But in an even stranger fashion, Sai _liked_ not being able to get her face just right. He liked it, because whenever he couldn't get it right, he felt an angry heat in his chest, a tightness in his facial expression. Frustration. _Anger_.

Sai hadn't remembered feeling anger since he was a child.

So as much as the feeling irritated him, Sai had begun to crave it. So he continued to grit his teeth and he continued to put his brush to the page. He could see the expression in his mind, picture it, so _why couldn't he put it to the page_?

There was a flicker of movement below, and in a flurry of sand and earth, the Jinchuuriki appeared at the water's edge, brown coat billowing out beneath him. He clicked a small object in his hand and spoke aloud. "Twenty four minutes and eighteen seconds."

"Damn!" Sakura cursed, splashing angrily at the water. "Five seconds short of Lee's record. And he's wearing weights!"

"He's also not swimming at altitude." Gaara pointed out. "Konoha rivers are more flat."

"He wouldn't take that as an excuse and neither should I."

Sai watched a smile come to Gaara's face as he reached a hand out to help Sakura out of the water. When he'd first met the Jinchuuriki, he'd barely seen the boy make any expressions at all. Now, after all this time, smiling seemed to come to him as easy as breathing.

(Out of habit, Sai forced himself to smile, attempting to mimic Gaara's own. If he didn't practice, how could he appear believable?)

As Sakura knelt in the grass on the riverside, still panting from her swim, Gaara began to lay out a towel and dry clothes. The typical routine. Sai attempted once more to sketch the look on Sakura's face, the look of bold determination, frustration at not reaching the record, exhaustion, relief at Gaara's aid...so many emotions flickering across her face so rapidly.

The frustration returned, and this time Sai closed his book and stashed away his brush. Not this time. He wouldn't be able to get it this time.

But he wouldn't stop trying until he _did_. He wouldn't stop trying until he could replicate what it was about Sakura Haruno's emotions that drew him to want to break his own training and _feel_ again.

"Sai! Get down here you lazy ass!"

That was his cue. Sai pushed himself off of his perch, landing on the ground below with the silence and grace of a true Root agent. By then, Sakura had already pulled on her clothes and begun to walk his way.

"So, have you changed your mind?"

Sai blinked. Changed his mind?

Ah, that was right. Iwa was holding a summer festival that evening. They'd been told that there would be performances, games, food, and all sorts of civilian activities that Sai had never participated in before. He hadn't _needed_ to. Shinobi didn't get vacations. The defense and upkeep of the village was a constant duty. That shinobi took such time at _all_ was illogical, and the only reason that Sai had thought about such a thing was because Sakura hadn't stopped badgering him about it since she'd heard of it a week ago.

"No." He answered simply. "I see no point in attending such an event. I will have reports to write for my superior before we leave Iwa tomorrow."

"Boring." Sakura frowned, reaching out to poke at his chest. "You could write a report about...I don't know, cultural practices in Iwa? Use it as an excuse to spy on all the shinobi that will be there? Or maybe even just spend some time with _us_?"

Sai couldn't meet Sakura's eyes with that. Even after all this time, weeks, _months_...Sakura was still insisting that they were friends.

He glanced downwards towards the book in his hands. In his mind he saw every drawing, every line he'd put to paper, every one of them of Sakura. He'd drawn a hundred expressions, but this one, the one she was giving him now...there was some sort of genuine plea in her eyes, and Sai still couldn't understand why she _wanted_ him along.

But perhaps even more frustrating than that was the feeling Sai got in his chest whenever Sakura dragged him along on some training mission or evening activity or...insisted that he join her in attending this festival affair. A feeling that just wouldn't leave. A feeling that almost felt...pleasant.

"Alright." He finally said. "I suppose it would be beneficial to write some reports on...cultural practices in Iwa."

"_Yes_." Sakura pumped a fist into the air. "Now all we have to do is convince Kakashi. Come on, Gaara, he's probably reading that dumb book on a roof somewhere."

"I...promised to meet with Han and Roshi one last time before we left."

"Oh, right! I'll meet you for lunch, then?"

Sai watched as the two began to make their way back down the mountain towards the village. Gaara still had a smile as Sakura chatted, and Sakura was her usual cheerful self. And Sai...Sai felt _something_ after all this. A sinking sensation in his stomach, a tightness in his chest…

Guilt, he realized. Guilt for letting himself be swayed by such indulgences. Guilt for getting distracted over a target. Guilt for..._feeling_.

He heard a small rustle, and felt a presence appear next to him. Sai immediately pocketed his book.

"Hello, Hatake."

"Sai."

The man known as Kakashi Hatake was, at times, as much of an enigma as Sakura, but he was a _predictable _enigma. Here was a man who had served in Anbu's general force, and even under Danzo in Root for a time. Kakashi had earned a reputation for being someone willing to put the safety of the village above the lives of even his own teammates. Him being sent here to retrieve a genin who had once served under him was logical. Him being ordered to stay here in Iwa by the Hokage so that he could ensure the neutrality agreement being written would be favorable to Konoha was also logical.

But what Sai _couldn't_ explain was why Kakashi had taken it up to follow him _everywhere_.

They were both supposed to be working for the benefit of Konoha, and even if Kakashi was no longer a part of Root, surely he understood that, as a Root agent, Sai was helping ensure Konoha's survival? But Kakashi, at first, had seemed nothing but suspicious of Sai's behavior. The jounin, when he wasn't working with Sakura, had spent every waking hour trailing Sai wherever he went. Two entire weeks passed with Kakashi on his tail, to the point where Sai had even felt nervous sending his regular reports.

But then, out of nowhere, something shifted. Suddenly, Kakashi had stopped trailing him from afar and instead had started to spend time...closer. Sai would be writing down information and suddenly he'd notice Kakashi on a branch nearby, reading that strange book of his. Sai would be watching Sakura train from a rooftop and Kakashi would land next to him...reading that strange book of his. And the worst part about it was, whenever the two of them were alone, sometimes Kakashi would...talk.

At first, it was simple discussion about the current status of Root. Sai found himself initially suspicious of this, but Kakashi _was_ a former Root member, and thus one of the only people he _could_ talk about Root-related topics with. Sai still held his tongue, for the most part. He knew enough to know that the Hokage and Danzo didn't always agree, and it was possible Kakashi had been asked to find information on Root for the Hokage to use against Danzo. But eventually, the conversations began to shift. It was no longer questions about Root, but soon questions about Konoha, about the state of the village, about what _he_ thought of Konoha. Sai had never had the privilege of being allowed an opinion before. It didn't matter what he thought of the village, all that mattered was doing his job. Sai allowed himself to give curt responses. Generic ones. Answers that couldn't be used against him or Root.

And then, the worst part came. Eventually Kakashi started asking him about _himself_.

The thing that Kakashi seemed to fail to understand was that there wasn't anything to talk about when it came to himself. Sai had no past, no future but that of the village. He didn't have likes or dislikes, he didn't have dreams or ambitions, and he didn't have _hobbies_.

And even if he did..._feel_ something when it came to Sakura Haruno, he wasn't so stupid as to admit it in front of anyone.

"Sakura is looking for you."

"I know." Kakashi commented, his eye glancing over a page of his book as he talked. "But I wanted to talk to you. Has Danzo decided what your next assignment will be when you leave Iwa?"

"I will be following Sakura Haruno until she returns to Konoha. From there, I will take my next assignment."

"I see." Kakashi answered. "You know, despite my warnings, my precious student seems rather fond of you."

"Yes, I've noticed that oddity."

"And if I had to warrant a guess about you, I'd say, perhaps deep down, you might have gained a little fondness for her over the past few months."

Sai frowned. This again. "Sakura is merely a target. I feel nothing for her, as is proper."

"I just have to make sure, you know. Danzo might get worried that his agent is beginning to feel compromised."

Sai did his best to maintain the facade of an emotionless exterior. But he had to admit, Kakashi made it _extremely_ difficult.

"I maintain that, as a proper Root agent, I feel nothing."

"How very interesting." Kakashi chuckled. "I just wanted to see what you had to say on the matter. But more importantly, when are you going to tell Sakura?"

"That I feel nothing?" Sai was baffled by the suggestion. "I believe she would punch me."

"No, not that." Kakashi countered. His book lowered, and the man looked up to meet Sai's gaze.

"When are you going to tell Sakura that Danzo ordered you to return to Konoha a month ago?"

Sai froze.

_How had he found out?_

He'd been certain that, at the very least, Danzo would have taken Sai's past month of silence as a sign that Sai couldn't return home without compromising..._something_. The mission, his position, information, _something_. He'd assumed, even if Danzo had taken his month of silence as subordination (perhaps correctly so), that Danzo would have kept this information private and within the ranks of Root. Sai had assumed Root agents would have been sent to question him.

_So how had Kakashi learned the truth?_

Years of Root training was the only reason that Sai managed to keep a straight face. He forced himself to smile, the only way he knew to keep the situation from going...sour.

"Foolish of you to assume that everything you hear is correct, Hatake. You know as well as anyone that Root is masterful at planting false information."

"So Root wanted the Hokage and I to believe that you were refusing to return home, is that what you're suggesting?" Kakashi went back to his book, chuckling again. "Not exactly certain _why_ Danzo would want us to believe that, if not to see if I could find you and bring you home. If you really were planting that sort of information, wouldn't it be detrimental to your mission?"

Sai's smile faltered. Kakashi's logic was sound. And he absolutely _could not_ let Kakashi know it.

"As I said, Root is masterful at planting false information. If you fully understood Danzo's plans, he would not be very good at his job, would he?"

"Ah, of course."

Sai turned to leave, not wanting to meet Kakashi's eyes any further. The man knew too much. The man _knew_. Even if Sai could try to argue his way around it, eventually the truth would come out.

In the months since he'd followed Sakura Haruno to Iwa, Sai had become _compromised_.

And he had no idea what he was going to do.

* * *

As Gaara caught sight of the small hut at the top of the hill, he braced himself.

His sand would automatically protect him, but Gaara had learned in his months of training that against a certain someone, it wasn't necessarily enough. Lee had been the first to be fast enough to break through his sand, but…

_Roshi_, on the other hand…

He felt the force of the Yonbi suddenly slam against his own as Roshi approached, a hurricane of power that his sand could only barely keep up with. Gaara decided, this time, to take a strategic approach. With a flare of chakra, he performed a substitution, leaving a sand clone in his place for Roshi to demolish. That would give him approximately three seconds to get closer to his goal.

Roshi believed that a shinobi should be prepared for anything. He believed that a Jinchuuriki, more so than anyone else, should be prepared for the worst. And when Roshi had finally decided to help Han in training Gaara, Roshi had implemented one single schedule to the program.

A training he liked to call: 'Danger Can Strike At Any Time and You'd Better Be Prepared'.

(The original name had a lot more cursing. Gaara had simplified it down in his mind to remember it better.)

The training usually took place as Gaara made his way up to their home. Today, Han had invited Gaara over for one final breakfast before he and Sakura left Iwa. Of course, that meant one final time that Roshi would try to break his defenses.

If he made it to the hut, he passed the training. If Roshi managed to land a single hit, then he failed the training. Gaara was used to playing an ultimate defender, but speed had never been his forte.

At least, it _hadn't_ been.

Gaara concentrated, reaching out with his mind until he connected with Shukaku. There were no words spoken, but there was an understanding. Gaara needed to pass the training. And Shukaku was too prideful to lose to 'that horrid monkey'.

Shukaku's spite, it seemed, was a powerful motivator for their symbiosis.

Gaara felt Shukaku's energy begin to spiral within him. It was a warm sort of power, and he could manipulate it now as easily as breathing. He sent the power pushing towards his legs, and he pushed off the ground towards the door of the hut. The scenery seemed to fly by him, and Gaara reached for the doorknob. If he could just _touch_ it…

Roshi appeared in front of him, and it took every bit of Gaara's reflexes to dodge the punch that was thrown his way. His sand, unfortunately, wasn't quite fast enough to keep up with his enhanced speed yet. It would be several seconds before the sand caught up, and that meant that he would have to rely on his own dodging ability until then.

He saw Roshi's hands flicker with movement, and paled slightly. Roshi was _really_ going all out today.

The man's cheeks puffed up, and a flurry of molten rocks spewed forth from his mouth. Lava Release, Gaara had learned, which was the specialty of the Jinchuuriki of the Yonbi. If even one of the rocks hit him, it would melt through his sand armor and...well, that would be the end of that.

Gaara pushed himself backwards, skidding along the ground. He wasn't fast enough to dodge, but he _was_ powerful enough to move more earth than just his sand. He slammed his hands to the ground, summoning up the earth beneath him into a thick wall, just in time to provide himself with cover against Roshi's rocks.

The wall crumbled slightly, but it held.

His sand caught up, and that gave him an immediate edge. As Roshi appeared behind him for yet another attack, his sand was able to provide cover. Gaara pushed more chakra to his legs and leaped over the wall he'd made, once again heading for the door.

But this was a diversion. He had to play it smart.

As he made it to the top of his wall, Gaara created another sand clone with a substitution jutsu. As predicted, Roshi was fast enough to catch up with his clone immediately, shattering it to dust with a single blow of his fist.

But it was just a clone, and Gaara had just the right amount of time he needed to reach the doorknob. He grabbed hold of it and pulled the door open, moving out of the way just in time as Roshi went flying into the hut.

Gaara winced as he heard Roshi slam into one of the cabinets inside. It happened frequently, but it still made him cringe every time. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the cabin, going to offer a hand to the grumbling Jinchuuriki.

"Damn those clones of yours." Roshi complained, though he took Gaara's hand regardless. "But I suppose you're starting to get a brain in that head of yours. I can't even tell the difference between your clones and your real body anymore."

"It probably helps having such a diligent teacher." Han's voice echoed out from the kitchen.

"I'm not sure if diligent is the word I would use." Gaara countered, by now used to the banter that tended to fill the hut.

"Ah, true. Most people would call Roshi insane."

"Han, you bastard, just give me a damn muffin." Roshi stomped into the kitchen, opening the oven and reaching directly into it, despite the protests from the other man. It had startled Gaara at first, seeing how casual Roshi was about reaching into fires and ovens and other things that would burn most people, but Shukaku had assured him that the day the Yonbi couldn't handle a bit of fire was the day the world would freeze over.

Gaara allowed himself to settle at the small table, giving Han a smile as a plate of fried eggs and bacon was deposited in front of him. It would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy mornings like these, though he would have preferred Sakura to be here as well, but there was something about the simple, domestic attitude of the Iwa Jinchuuriki that made him hopeful for the future. If the two of them could live here together, peacefully, then that meant that he could have a peaceful future of his own to look forward to. Once everything was said and done, once Akatsuki was defeated and the neutrality project was in full swing…

Gaara blushed slightly as he considered a small house of his own, hot breakfast on the table…

Sakura smiling at him from the other side.

"You'll be writing to us, I hope?" Han spoke up, sitting down in his chair with a small rumble. "I'm curious to hear how the other Jinchuuriki are faring. If they're not doing well…"

"_No_, Han, no more house guests!" Roshi argued. "It's bad enough having to watch your back every time we're out. No strays!"

"Send them our way." Han continued anyway. "You know we love company."

The breakfast was as calm as it could be with the couple's light banter, and as he ate Gaara let his mind wander to the festival he'd be attending tonight. There had occasionally been festivals in Suna, but he'd never felt any desire to go, back when he'd lived there. Even now, the concept of large crowds was a bit intimidating, but Sakura had been so excited to go that he couldn't help but want to go too.

"You need to wear something nice for the festival." Han told him as they ate. "Something a bit more formal than your shinobi-wear. Do you have a yukata?"

"No." Gaara admitted. He'd picked up clothes during his time at Iwa, but never anything formal.

He looked up just in time to see Han shooting a glance towards Roshi, who turned red and looked away.

"He's not having one of mine!"

"Roshi will let you borrow one." Han turned to Gaara with a smile. "It'll be a better experience if you can blend in with the crowd, I think. Plus, you might catch Sakura's eye if you dress up nice."

Gaara blushed again. He wasn't used to feeling so flustered at the thought of..._anyone_.

But despite Shukaku's retching noises in the back of his mind, it wasn't, Gaara realized, an unpleasant feeling. In fact, he was beginning to savor it.

* * *

There was one hour before the festival began, and it _still_ wasn't enough time.

She'd managed to convince Kakashi to go, which had been step one of the day. Step two had been ensuring that she had the proper yukata for a festival. (Sakura wasn't sure she'd have a chance to glamour up in the future, and if she missed the opportunity now she _knew_ she'd regret it.) She'd found a dark red one with pretty pink cherry blossoms sewn into the fabric, and perhaps it was a bit heavy-handed given her name, but she'd liked it and damn it all, it looked good on her.

Step three was the more difficult one. It had been a step three for days now, _weeks_ even, whenever she'd had free time after a day of training or drafting the neutrality agreement. Step three...involved a library.

It was funny that she so often ended up in libraries. It had been a library that had started her journey away from Konoha, that had started _all_ of this, and here she was, yet again, hitting the books. These were books she'd read before, a million times, but she kept scanning over them in case there was some hint, some sort of clue that she'd missed when reading them before.

"Looking up Madara Uchiha again, eh?"

Sakura looked up as Onoki's voice echoed in the small study room. She gave the old man a sheepish smile.

"You caught me, Onoki-sensei. I know you've told me everything you remember, but between that and the records you have...I don't know, it just doesn't seem like everything's here."

"Talk me through it."

Onoki sat across from her, his back cracking as he did so. Sakura winced, though in truth she'd gotten used to it.

"Alright." She agreed. Talking through it, it was. "So, I think I have everything about Madara during his prime. It's really his death that doesn't seem to add up."

"And why, pray tell, is my student interested in the death of Madara Uchiha?"

"I'll get there in a minute." Sakura promised. "Let's start with the Valley of the End and the battle between Madara and Hashirama Senju." Sakura pulled out a notebook, using her notes for a reference. "It's generally agreed that Madara, believing that Konoha would never be a place of peace for shinobi, abandoned the village and left for some time. When he returned, he did so intending to destroy the village, and he intended to do so using the Nine-Tailed Fox. The Kyuubi." Sakura pointed at her notes. "That right there is important. Madara didn't have the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. He wasn't a Jinchuuriki. The history says that Madara was able to _control_ the Jinchuuriki using his Sharingan. If this was possible for all Sharingan users, then why haven't we seen anyone do it since?"

"I believe I can answer that." Onoki offered. "Madara's strength far surpassed that of his clan. It was well known that his Sharingan was different from that of normal Sharingan. There's even rumors that he took his dying brother's eyes in order to strengthen his own."

"I remember you mentioned that." Sakura nodded. "And that rumor specifically is really interesting. It could just be a tall tale, but...Kakashi-sensei has a transplanted Sharingan, we know eye transplants are possible. If the rumor has any truth to it at all, then it's an important detail. We could call it a Sharingan upgrade, and if it exists, we can assume it has the power to control a Tailed-Beast. So, we keep that in mind." She flipped through her notes again, coming to rest on a new page. "So, Madara brings the Kyuubi and attempts to destroy the village. Hashirama moves to defend the village. They fight. They fight and it's _such_ a terrible fight that it levels mountains and landscapes to create the Valley of the End as we know it now. And in the end, Hashirama wins and Madara is defeated. No, not just defeated. Madara is _killed_." Sakura tapped her pen on her notebook, thinking. "From there, the Kyuubi is sealed into Hashirama's wife to make the first Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. The village is saved. Life moves on. So...what's wrong with this picture?"

"I'm sure you plan on telling me."

"_What happened to Madara's body_?"

Sakura chewed on the tip of her pen as she thought aloud. "There's no memorial for Madara Uchiha as far as I can remember, and I find that strange to begin with. Wouldn't the Uchiha want to honor their founding member? And even if they didn't, simply because of Madara's betrayal, then why didn't they recover the body for the sake of recovering Madara's _eyes_? Madara has the strongest Sharingan ever known, and they didn't think to transplant them onto another Uchiha? What if an enemy village got ahold of the body? I know for a fact that the Hyuuga go to extreme lengths to preserve their Byakugan, so why didn't the Uchiha do the same for Madara's upgraded Sharingan?"

"That...is a very good point." Onoki's face grew serious as he glanced over Sakura's notes. "Is it possible the body was recovered in secret?"

"I think whatever happened to the body _was_ a secret, but one we haven't solved yet." Sakura agreed. "If the body had been recovered or returned to the Uchiha clan, then it's possible the body was just...entombed and the eyes left alone. I feel like that's an unlikely possibility, but it's one we can't leave out. I haven't been to the Uchiha compound, and the only way I could know for sure would be to search it myself, which...is probably out of the question. But we can definitely conclude that the Uchiha clan weren't actively using Madara's eyes, because it would have been village knowledge. It would have been impossible to hide that one of the Uchiha was just impossibly stronger than the rest. So, either Madara's body was laid to rest and _never_ disturbed...or something else happened to the body."

"You think someone else recovered it?"

"I _know_ someone else recovered it. Either that, or someone else managed to replicate Madara's eyes, and we have two mysteries on our hands. I present the incident of the Rampage of the Nine-Tailed Fox over a dozen years ago." Sakura turned her notes around so that Onoki can read. "It's public knowledge that the Kyuubi attacked Konoha around this time. What we have to ask ourselves is...how did the Kyuubi escape its container?"

"A poor seal?" Onoki suggested. "Though considering Mito Uzumaki held it for her entire life, that seems unlikely. Uzumaki seals are legendary."

"Precisely." Sakura agreed. "Mito Uzumaki survived _childbirth_ without the seal breaking once. She cared the seal until her death. So what happened with Kushina Uzumaki, the next host, that caused the seal to break?"

"You're thinking sabotage."

"I am." Sakura nodded. "But of course, sabotaging the seal so that the Kyuubi could break free would take someone of considerable power to begin with. They'd not only have to breach village defenses, and whatever guard Kushina might have had with her, but they'd also have to overpower her and ensure that she wasn't capable of strengthening the seal as they tried to weaken it. I think that severely narrows down the list of shinobi who are capable of orchestrating such a thing. And on top of that...say the Kyuubi escapes, rampages, destroys the village like you hope...that still means it's free, and that means it could go rampage _anywhere_. It's a stupid idea that risks yourself...unless you have the means to control it."

"I see where you're going with this." Onoki frowned. "You think someone with Madara's eyes orchestrated the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha. Someone that could control the Kyuubi once it was done destroying the place."

"I do. And, if that's the case...if that's _true_...then there's another, worse conclusion that such a thing leads to." Sakura chewed harder on her pen, grimacing as she did. "I think someone with Madara's eyes is leading Akatsuki. They need someone capable of controlling Tailed Beasts, someone strong enough to break the seals on Jinchuuriki and seal the beasts into other people. And if that's the case, Onoki-sensei…" Sakura swallowed. "I'm scared that Akatsuki might be unstoppable."

"Bah." Onoki rolled his eyes. "The Second Tsuchikage and I were able to handle Madara. If there is someone out there with his eyes, we'll be able to handle him too. You, in particular, have been studying under me extensively for the past few months. Do you think I've taught you nothing?"

"No, Onoki-sensei!" Sakura protested. "I've learned more here than in my entire first _year_ of being a shinobi."

"Do you think you are not strong enough to take on an Uchiha?"

"...maybe."

"Then you are foolish." Onoki huffed. "Uchiha are as fallible as any other shinobi. Their eyes are strong, but they have their own weaknesses. Hashirama did not take down Madara because his _eyes_ were stronger. He took down Madara because he was a strong and capable shinobi."

"He had Wood Release." Sakura argued. "Something nobody else has been able to use ever since him."

"Then you need to find something better than Wood Release. You need to find something that only Sakura Haruno will ever be able to use, and once you cultivate that, an Uchiha will be no problem. You're a smart girl. You'll figure something out." Onoki stood up in his chair, determined as he spoke. "I did not spend all this time training you, working with you on this damn project to hear you intimidated by the mere _concept_ of an Uchiha warrior. I am _insulted_ that you think so little of yourself. Look at all of these notes you've put together. You may have just _insinuated_ more information about the leader of Akatsuki than anyone in any village has managed to put together, and you did so with nothing but _your _brain."

Sakura smiled. "Okay, you might have a point."

"If there is an Uchiha at the helm of Akatsuki, they will not last long. You are about to go on a journey to unite the shinobi world. Do you really think one Uchiha can stand against the united might of every shinobi village on the continent? A united Kage force? The united Jinchuuriki? Every powerful shinobi you've ever known, working in harmony?"

"I guess they'd have to be a pretty strong Uchiha, wouldn't they?" Sakura closed her notebook, letting herself sigh in relief. "Maybe I'm worrying too much."

"No. I wouldn't say that." Onoki's gaze softened. "To worry about such things...you'll need to, as the future develops. If Akatsuki is truly everything you claim, then it might just take a united shinobi front to stop them. And right now, you are the world's best chance. It's enough pressure to make most shinobi buckle."

"You're not wrong."

"But you won't. You are my student, and no student of mine gives up that easily. Isn't that right?"

"...yeah." Sakura nodded, standing up as well. "You're right, Onoki-sensei. I have to try. I have to do this."

"And you have less than an hour to get ready for the festival." Onoki pointed out. "If my student isn't there, it'll be quite the embarrassment for me, you know."

"I'll be there, I'll be there." Sakura giggled, gathering her things. "But the way you've been talking, it sounds like this festival is going to be different from the other ones. You're not planning anything extravagant, are you?"

Onoki gave her a small wink before laughing. "Me, plan something extravagant? Never in a million years."

Sakura knew better than to believe it.

* * *

Half an hour later, Sakura had changed into her yukata and pulled her hair up into a neat bun. It had started to get long again, and Sakura found herself torn between keeping it short for practicality's sake, or letting it grow long again for...well, it would be for aesthetic, she had to admit it to herself. She had initially let it grown long to impress Sasuke, but now she wasn't so sure. Kurotsuchi kept her hair short. In fact, most of the kunoichi in Iwa seemed to favor short styles. Harder for an opponent to grab, less likely to get in your eyes. But Tsunade had long hair, and she was a _kage_. Tsunade was strong to just ensure that _no one _grabbed her hair.

Sakura sighed. She liked to think she looked pretty either way. Maybe she would just see how things went in the future. If it got too bothersome, she could trim it again.

She heard a knock on her bedroom door, and she hastily went to open it. She paused as she realized who was on the other side.

Gaara was there, wearing a deep magenta yukata. It was slightly big on the boy, but it was the first time Sakura had ever seen him in such attire, and it was admittedly jarring. But Gaara looked nervous, and Sakura wasn't going to be so rude as to visibly look shocked at him wearing it. She put on her biggest grin.

"You look great!" She insisted. "Are you excited for the festival? I think Onoki's planning something big, but he won't tell me anything about it…"

She continued to talk as they exited the apartment. She knew her talking set Gaara at ease, and since this was his first time attending a festival, she figured it was her duty to make sure he had the time of his life.

It put her even more at ease when Sai hopped down from a tree to join them. He hadn't dressed up; even Sakura knew better than to expect Sai to wear anything other than his Anbu gear, but he'd still showed up, and after they'd found Kakashi…

It was as good a night as she could have wanted.

The festival spread out through the center of the village. Brightly colored lights lit up the streets, and dozens upon dozens of vendors could be seen every way Sakura turned. She dragged Gaara and Sai to the games first. They were usually rigged in such a way that shinobi couldn't get the edge, so it was hilarious to see both Gaara and Sai try (and fail) to win at dart throwing and ball tossing games.

(It was equally hilarious to see a frustrated Gaara use his sand to knock over the coconut shy stands when he realized that the coconuts were usually nailed to the stand.)

The dancers eventually drew Sakura's attention away from the games. The outfits and movements were far different from anything she'd seen in Konoha, and Iwa's choice of instruments constructed a unique melody that seemed to echo against the stone walls of the village. But more interestingly, Sai seemed far more interested in the dancing than she did. He stopped every time they came across a new group, an unreadable expression on his face as the music played and the dancers twirled.

Sakura wasn't sure how long Sai would be staying with them. At some point, he'd be called back to serve Konoha in a different way. But she figured the least she could do was give him a good time to remember while he was out of Root's influence.

(And maybe, if she played her cards right, she could use the neutrality project to ensure that no group like Root came into existence ever again. But that was a wish for the far future.)

It was almost midnight when a hush came upon the square, and Sakura noticed that a crowd had begun to gather. She took Gaara and Sai by the hand and led them deep into the crowd. Whatever was going on, whatever _Onoki_ had planned...she wanted front row seats.

It turned out, of course, that she was getting far more 'front row' than she had planned. Onoki himself had set up a stage in the village square, and gathered with him were Kakashi and, to Sakura's surprise, Satomi from the Plains Village.

"People of the village of Iwagakure, as your Tsuchikage I have an announcement to make to all of you!" Onoki spoke, his loud voice echoing across the square. "Over the past few months, I have been working with several shinobi on a project that I have no doubt will revolutionize the shinobi world. The paperwork I hold in my hands is the draft for a treaty that I hope will formalize neutral relationships between the shinobi villages of the world, and help prevent the need for war in the coming years. This project is being spearheaded by none other than my recent student, Sakura Haruno, who leaves Iwa tomorrow to take this draft across the world to be signed. The project, however, will begin here with myself and two other villages. For the first time since this village's founding, Konoha and Iwa will formally be at peace!"

Sakura's eyes widened as she realized the spectacle Onoki had put together. This was no longer going to be a tight secret. In announcing this in such a public place, with so many people, the word was _bound_ to get out. Everyone was going to know about the neutrality project. Everyone was going to know that _she_ was coming with it.

And as Onoki pulled her up onto the stage, Sakura realized that this really was only the beginning. She'd have to get used to this sort of publicity if she wanted the project to succeed, and right here, right now, was the best time to do it. Not only that, she was witnessing history. Konoha and Iwa, putting aside the past, putting aside their differences to make way for a better future.

Even though she was terrified, she couldn't help but be excited too.

"As the chosen leader of Iwagakure, as your Tsuchikage, I hereby claim the right to be the first to sign this treaty of peace." Onoki announced. From there, he handed the pen and paper to Satomi.

"As the chosen leader of Plains, I, Satomi, announce my village's agreement to ally with the world under this treaty of peace."

From there, the pen passed to Kakashi, who somehow looked more nervous than Sakura did.

"As Konoha's ambassador, until such time as she can sign it herself, I sign this treaty of peace as proxy to the Hokage Tsunade."

Three signatures. Three villages who had already agreed to the draft that she had been working on for months now. Three down...probably another dozen to go.

But it was a start. It was a start for peace, and whether or not any other village joined in, she had already made a difference by helping Iwa and Konoha formally come to peace with each other. With the signatures on the draft, it helped put a bit of her mind at ease. Now all that was left was to enjoy the festival for the rest of the night, until she and Gaara departed for Waterfall the next day.

The future was coming, she told herself. A world of peace and happiness. A world without Akatsuki.

She could only hope this optimism would last.


	31. Chapter 31

_First Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact:  
All villages who henceforth sign this agreement are to be considered equal, regardless of size, economic status, and military strength._

* * *

Shinobi equipment, check.

Several months of aiding the Tsuchikage and taking odd jobs around the village had filled her wallet enough to invest in some higher quality supplies. No longer was she carrying shabby, second-rate kunai that she'd only barely been able to afford on a genin salary. Now her kunai were made of rare Iwa iron, sharp enough that she'd nicked herself on accident just handling the damn things. Explosive tags? Hundreds. Storage scrolls? Enough that she probably needed a storage scroll just to put her scrolls in. Medical supplies, food pills, rations, traps, and finally, the most important part…

The signed draft of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact.

Sakura kept this draft in a sealing scroll. She kept _that_ scroll in another sealing scroll that required her blood to unlock, and _that_ scroll was kept in the inner pocket of her jacket, where no one could swipe it from her. There were extra copies of the draft, of course, but this was _the_ signed copy, the important one that she'd be carrying with her from village to village. If anything happened to it...well, it would be a pain to get it all signed again, and Sakura was trying to avoid pain as much as possible for this journey.

All of this gear had to be contained on her person, and though most of the gear could be kept in sealing scrolls for when it was needed, the majority of her new weaponry had to be immediately accessible. Sakura had never had so many sharp objects in her _life_, let alone within her arms' reach at all times. Kurotsuchi had walked her through places to conceal shuriken and kunai, from simple belt pouches to small slings hidden on the back straps of her _bra_. She was a diplomat now, Kurotsuchi had insisted, and a woman on top of that, which meant she had to be armed and ready for the worst at all times. Sakura would make enemies. There would be people who who try to take advantage of her. As a shinobi, Sakura had known this, but never in a million years would she ever have been _this_ prepared without Kurotsuchi's help.

(She'd later give a side-eye to Kakashi, who really should have emphasized this with _all_ of Team Seven. But, she supposed, out of the powerhouses that made up Team Seven, she probably was the only one who really _needed_ to be paranoid. No one was stupid enough to sneak up on an Uchiha or a Jinchuuriki.)

The winter months had long faded into spring, with a hint of summer on the horizon. Sakura had long since given up her thick winter coat. Initially she had settled back into her usual cheongsam, but Kurotsuchi had once again stepped in to provide advice. A kunoichi could look fashionable, she insisted, but still practical. A typical civilian cheongsam had no pockets or concealments to store anything useful. There was nothing in the fabric that provided any sort of defense against the elements or against enemy blades. It was better for a shinobi to avoid taking hits to begin with, but in case of emergency, it was better to have something more protective.

Thankfully, Kurotsuchi had said with a grin, Sakura had ended up in the right place. Iwa, more so than perhaps any other shinobi village, was prized for its metalwork and armor.

There were a plethora of blacksmiths and weavers in the village to choose from, and it hadn't taken long at all before Sakura was able to commission something to her liking. One armourer specialized in an extremely lightweight chainmail, not something that would save her from crushing blows or high-powered ninjutsu, but would deflect most common kunai and shuriken. Sakura could layer a more customized cheongsam over the mail, and if she coupled that with a pocketed vest, she gained a look that was one part fashionable and several parts practical.

(Sakura couldn't _wait_ to see the look on Ino's face when she next reached Konoha.)

Sakura was also encouraged to invest in shin guards and arm bracers. The last thing Sakura wanted was to lose a hand or a leg in battle, even if she'd seen a legless Iwa jounin pull off some pretty impressive jutsu. Better safe than sorry was the motto, and by the time Sakura had settled on her new choice in attire, she had to admit that she looked far more like a warrior than the young girl who had snuck away from her village home. Maybe even like someone that the other village leaders would take seriously.

The other leaders…

Sakura swallowed hard as she finished checking her apartment. Really, she was just stalling. She'd gotten so used to living in Iwa that she wasn't quite sure she _wanted_ to leave. Iwa was comfortable. Iwa could be a _home_, much like…

Much like Konoha had been a home.

But it was easy to get attached to somewhere stable. Easy to get attached to people who treated you with respect and assumed you were every bit as strong as they were. Easy to get attached to somewhere with a _bed_.

There was absolutely nothing more for her to pack, however. The apartment was as empty as when she first arrived in Iwa.

She made her way to the bathroom mirror, fiddling with her hair in an attempt to get herself another couple minutes. Her hand briefly brushed against the red ribbon holding her hair up...Ino's ribbon. Ever since she'd left behind her Konoha headband, she'd been using the ribbon to keep her hair out of her eyes, but there was also a large bit of sentiment behind it. It was Ino, long before anyone else, who had seen potential in her. Ino who had helped her to find confidence.

In a strange way, looking at the ribbon helped steady her nerves. Even if she was heading into the unknown...people believed in her. She could be confident. She could be strong. She was a kunoichi, and she was going to work to unite the shinobi nations.

Sakura took a deep breath and made her way out of the apartment.

She would be taking a side road through one of the surrounding mountains, putting her on a path straight to the Village Hidden in Waterfalls. Takigakure. It was a small village, but it supposedly housed the Jinchuuriki of the Seven-Tailed Beast, which meant that Sakura had double the invested interest in going there. She needed to convince the leader of the village to sign the treaty, and she needed to meet with the Jinchuuriki...or at least let Gaara meet with them. Gaara had made friends with the Iwa Jinchuuriki surprisingly easy. Perhaps Jinchuuriki just...understood each other best.

That was right, she reminded herself. This wasn't just her own mission. This wasn't just about the neutrality pact. She was also helping Gaara learn about himself and meet others like him. She was helping him get out of his shell. Already the boy was almost unrecognizable from the boy she'd seen at the chuunin exams all those months ago. He seemed to be smiling all the time, he talked with her more than ever, and, though Sakura supposed this was half due to Iwa not knowing Gaara was a Jinchuuriki, he had even gathered enough confidence to speak with Iwa residents when the need arrived. She wasn't the only one who had grown out here in Iwa. Gaara, too…

She caught sight of him as she made her way to the side road Onoki told her about. He was still wearing the long, brown coat he'd gotten on the way up the mountain, and it appeared as though his sand 'gourd' had been permanently changed into a sand 'scroll'. Anyone outside of Suna or Konoha would be hard pressed to recognize the sullen Ichibi Jinchuuriki at this point, and Sakura was counting on it.

Several others were also waiting at the village exit. Sai in particular looked ready to go, and Kakashi had brought a small backpack. Konoha would be her next stop after Taki, so it made sense to travel together. Not that she didn't feel safe traveling just with Gaara, but having the Anbu and her old jounin sensei on her team was just extra safety, and there wasn't anything wrong with that.

A smile came to her face as she saw Onoki and several other Iwa shinobi waiting at the exit as well. Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi...even Han and Roshi had gathered by Gaara, with the latter ruffling the boy's hair roughly as they exchanged words.

Sakura focused on this. Focused on Onoki's grandfatherly smile, Kurotsuchi's proud stance, the way Han and Roshi fathered over Gaara. Every village she would be going to was full of people like these, people with families, with dreams, with fears..._people_. Not just the legends she read in her history book.

She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be apprehensive of the future. Now was the time for a bittersweet goodbye.

"Remember every damn thing I taught you, girl." Onoki insisted as he looked her up and down. "Innovation before strength. Every shinobi can throw a shuriken or swing a sword, but you've got a brain. Use it!"

"Yes, sensei!" Sakura gave Onoki a respectful nod.

"And make sure you remember the differences between mountain terrain and-"

"Lord Tsuchikage, I'm sure Sakura doesn't need reminding." Kurotsuchi stepped in, shaking her head. "You drilled earth layers into her head for four weeks straight, remember?"

"And she'd damn well better remember them!"

"I will, sensei, I promise." Sakura bowed. "And I look forward to sending you the good news as everyone else sees the treaty."

"That's my girl." Onoki grinned, and that was that. Goodbyes were said, and before long Sakura was walking through the mountain tunnel and on her way out of Iwa.

* * *

"I spy with my little eye, something that starts with 'g'."

It was quiet for a while, before Gaara finally spoke up. "Grass."

"Nope."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura had never seen the jounin look so annoyed in all her time knowing him. It was clear he wasn't used to playing traveling games, but she wasn't going to stop. Gaara enjoyed them.

(And maybe she got a mischievous sense of satisfaction seeing her sensei forced to play along.)

"Ground." Kakashi mumbled.

"Nope."

"You're all horribly blind." Sai spoke up, fake smile wide on his face. "It's obviously granite. It's what's making up several of the nearby rock formations."

"Got it!" Sakura gave Sai a big smile in turn. "That's seven points to Sai, five points to Gaara, and...one point for Kakashi?"

"Is this really what you were doing the entire way from Suna to Iwa?" Kakashi asked.

"It's not the only thing I'm doing." Sakura admitted. "I'm attempting to master my sensing jutsu while my mind is otherwise occupied. A good shinob is able to maintain their guard while distracted by mundane conversation, right?"

"You know, I know I _told_ you that, my darling student, but you could stand to pick something less mundane." Kakashi muttered, pulling out one of his many smutty books as they walked. "Like...where you found the scroll you learned that sensing jutsu from."

"I told you." Sakura said innocently. "I just...found it. You can just find things."

"Ah yes. You just found a scroll with several S-ranked jutsu just lying around, unsupervised, unguarded…"

Sakura frowned. Kakashi was getting way too close to the truth. There was a part of her that wanted to come clean about the scroll, (maybe Kakashi could secretly return it without causing a fuss?), but damn it all she'd worked _hard_ for that scroll and she still hadn't learned everything in it yet. And it was entirely possible Kakashi or Sai could use the scroll against her and the neutrality project, could claim that a thief shouldn't be an ambassador...but Sakura just couldn't bring herself to lie about where she found it. She felt as though Kakashi would see right through anything she came up with.

Thankfully, before Kakashi could interrogate her further, the path wound its way past the walls of mountain and suddenly a clear view stood out in the distance.

The ocean.

Sakura had known they were on the northern end of Iwa territory, but she hadn't expected to travel so close to the sea. She hadn't seen the ocean since the Land of Waves, a time that...suddenly seemed much longer ago than she used to picture it. The ocean to the south had been cold, covered in fog, almost dreary. The ocean out here...well, it was still cold _out_, but with the sun reflecting on the waves and the bright blue sky above it...there was something warm about how the view looked. Something that made Sakura want to run down the mountain to the water's edge.

And she wasn't the only one, by the look of it. She felt movement next to her, and when she turned she saw Gaara looking out to the ocean, his eyes wider than she'd ever seen.

"Gaara, have you...never seen the ocean?"

"He's from Suna." Sai retorted. "Of course he hasn't. Suna land barely borders the ocean at all."

"It's...big."

Gaara leaped onto the rocks in front of him, squinting as he tried to look to the distance. "Really big."

"Nobody's ever crossed it." Sakura commented, leaping up to join Gaara. "Every now and then, supposedly a boat tries, but it's never heard from again." She laughed. "Some people think the world is flat and that's where it ends, so the boats have just fallen off."

"Flat?" Gaara looked to Sakura, puzzled. "But if it was flat, wouldn't we be able to see the end of it from here?"

"Hey, I never said some people weren't idiots."

"It's more likely that the ocean is too vast for our ships to cross at this point in time." Sai added, leaping up to the rock as well. "The further one goes out into the ocean, the larger the waves become. Simple wooden ships can barely manage."

"It's that large…" Gaara looked back to the ocean. "There could be...a whole continent on the other side. People who've never heard of shinobi or...Jinchuuriki, or anything like that."

"I hadn't thought of that." Sakura admitted. "Do you think they could still use chakra like we do? Maybe there's a completely different style of jutsu that we can't even dream of!"

"Or maybe they can't use chakra at all." Sai countered. "An entire continent of useless civilians."

Sakura frowned before punching Sai in the arm. "My parents are civilians, thank you very much, and they're not _useless_. Who do you think builds all the houses in Konoha? Works out all the plumbing? Does all the farming? _Shinobi_ are too high and mighty for all that, after all."

"Hmm...perhaps so. But civilians wouldn't be alive without shinobi to protect them."

"And shinobi wouldn't be alive if civilians weren't around to do all the work that the shinobi won't!"

"Symbiosis." Gaara suddenly commented. "Neither can live without the other."

"Exactly." Sakura grinned. "And if anyone tries to call civilians useless again, I'll throw them into the ocean!"

She was pleased to see Sai's fake smile falter a little bit. "Ah, you know, I've changed my mind. You're not really the 'ugly' type, Sakura. From now on, you're 'Scary'."

Sakura couldn't help but be pleased with _that_ new nickname.

Gaara was still looking out to the ocean, so Sakura decided to let him have a moment of peace. She turned, meaning to jump down, when she caught sight of Kakashi.

He looked...well the only way she could describe it was _sentimental_. Like he was watching a scene that reminded him of something, something he hadn't seen in a long time. A brief look of confusion passed over her before she looked back to Gaara and Sai.

And then _she_ saw it too. A Jinchuuriki boy, used to being alone, wide-eyed with wonder at the new world around him that he'd never seen before. A withdrawn, dark-haired boy with a troubled past, brash, sometimes a bit rude…

Was Kakashi seeing Team Seven too, when he looked at the three of them?

It was...a strange sentiment to consider, albeit a pointless one. Maybe Gaara would be sticking around with her for the future, but Sai would be returning to Konoha at first opportunity. They weren't a team. Just travelers going in the same direction.

But Sakura couldn't deny that the idea of a 'Team' still appealed to her. No matter how hard she tried to focus on the new future she was carving for herself, every now and then her thoughts would return to Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto…

He'd returned her letters with great enthusiasm, though his handwriting had left a lot to be desired. She'd been surprised to hear that he was studying under Tsunade. It was hard to imagine the blonde having the patience for anything that didn't involve a fist fight, but by the sound of things Tsunade had somehow managed to get him involved in bookwork and village politics.

It would be good for him, Sakura thought with a smile. A Hokage would need to be able to excel in all parts of leading a village, not just defending it. And Tsunade was smart enough that Sakura knew she'd teach Naruto well. If anything, Naruto was in the best place he could possibly be.

And he was so damn _supportive_.

She'd worried that he'd be angry with her for leaving Konoha, like Sasuke had, but nothing in his letters seemed to show anything but support. He seemed enthusiastic at the prospect of the villages coming together, and even more excited when he'd heard that she was training under the Tsuchikage.

"_When you come back to Konoha, let's spar and see how strong we've gotten, okay?"_

Sakura gripped at her necklace tightly, trying her best not to get emotional. They were out traveling, she could afford to let her feelings slow them down. The Jashin necklace had become a weird sort of comfort to her during her time at Iwa. (Maybe that weird Akatsuki member had been onto something? ...no, she didn't want to admit, or maybe she _couldn't_.) It wasn't unusual for her to _get_ emotional, but lately she'd found herself getting embarrassed over it. All of the other women shinobi she knew were so calm and composed...and here she was getting weepy over the fact that _Naruto_ wanted to spar with her, see how _strong_ she'd gotten.

_Naruto thought of her as an equal_.

And maybe he'd said praises about her before, it was nothing like that letter had suggested. A spar wasn't something Naruto would ask because he had a crush on her or wanted to garner her affection. Naruto had only ever asked to spar with Sasuke before, because Sasuke was his rival, Sasuke was someone who could _challenge_ him. But with one written sentence, suddenly Sakura was on his level too. Suddenly Sakura could be a _challenge_.

She wondered what Sasuke would think of her now. Would he still see her as an annoyance? Or would he…

Huh, how strange. Her first thought wasn't about him wanting to date her, but whether or not he'd want to _fight_ her.

"Sakura?"

Gaara put a hand on her shoulder, jolting her out of her thoughts. She forced a smile.

"I'm fine, Gaara. Just thinking, that's all. The ocean sort of brought back some memories."

"Good ones?"

Sakura blinked. Gaara was smiling at her, something that still occasionally brought her pause. These past months...they'd really changed both of them. She continued to smile as she spoke.

"Yeah, you could say that."

She glanced over to Kakashi, who'd put on a smile of his own, all traces of that sentimental gaze gone. "Shall we get a move on? We've still got a ways to go before we reach Taki."

"Especially if we stop to sight-see every mile." Sai added dryly. Sakura gently punched him again.

"Oh, poo on you, Sai. Now I'm gonna make sure we stop every mile to look at something." She slid back down the rock onto the path, looking around briefly. "Alright, this time...Gaara, you pick things for us to spy, alright?"

"Right." Gaara nodded.

They began to walk again, Gaara mulling over his 'i-spy' choice. Out of habit, Sakura put her hands together and let out a sensing pulse. It wasn't as though she expected to find anyone out here, but every bit of practice mattered. Her energy seemed to spread out around her in a wave, pinging around trees and rocks and…

And…

Sakura froze. There, in a tree in the distance…

That was a _chakra signature_.

Her head shot in the direction of the tree, attempting to see just exactly who it was that had gotten on her radar. For a brief moment, so brief she might have imagined it, she saw a figure buried within the bark of the tree.

Half black skin, half white skin, strange plant-like growths around him…

Her hand instinctively went to a kunai at her hip, and next to her she felt all three of her companions shift into a defensive stance. But before she could do anything, the figure melted away into tree. Sakura sent out another sensing pulse.

Nothing.

It was like nobody had been there at all.

"Sakura?"

"Gaara...everyone…" Sakura swallowed, drawing her kunai despite the fact that she could no longer sense the figure. "...keep an eye on the trees, will you? I might have imagined it, but…"

But how could she have imagined something so strange?

Her free hand went to her necklace again. She was in new territory now, and who knew what sort of strange shinobi lived out here. Still, there was something about the man that had given her a distinct sense of unease. Something about the chakra, something about it that…

She paused.

The chakra…

It hadn't had _any_ nature at all, when she had sensed it. It was like the energy had been completely blank.

Sakura reached out to take hold of Gaara's hand. Whoever it was, whoever it had been…

She had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time she saw them.


	32. Other Worlds, Other Minds (Int Part 6)

"Focus now. Create a clear image in your mind of what you want to show me. Think of each individual detail. Think of sounds, of scents, of anything that your mind can remember."

Ino pictured a flower. It was easy to focus on flowers. She'd worked in her mother's flower shop since she was a young girl, and the names and properties of various plants came as naturally to her as breathing. And maybe it was because she'd recently received a letter from Sakura, but her mind drifted to the image of a cherry blossom tree that she often saw on the other side of the village. It had just started to bloom, several small flowers on a tree with a vast trunk and branches that reached into the skies themself. She let the image in her mind expand to include the entire tree. If she could convey this entirely, it would be impressive, wouldn't it? Something she could use to _wow _Naruto and Chouji, maybe even get a change in expression from Shikamaru, and when Sakura returned, she just _knew_ this would prove her to be the stronger kunoichi. What other clan than the Yamanakas had a _telepathy_ technique? It was something Sakura would _never_ be able to copy.

"I'm ready."

"Good." Her father's voice echoed over her image of the cherry blossom tree. "Now, make the hand sign. Reach out with your mind to touch my own."

Ino did so. This technique was different than the Mind Transfer technique. She wasn't pushing her mental energy from her body in full, she was only really transferring a little piece of it. Her father likened it to a glass of water. She wasn't pouring out the entire glass, but letting a single drop fall from the rim. Just the image. Just the picture of a cherry blossom tree, just starting to bloom, beautiful and strong, like _her_…

"Is it...a tree?"

Ino grinned. It was _working_, she was really doing it!

"Like...an oak tree? Something big, I can't really make out more…"

"Crap!" Ino cursed, her technique breaking as she did so. She'd gotten the tree part across, but not the flower? It was the first damn thing she'd thought of! "It was a cherry blossom, Dad! Cherry blossom!"

"Oh! Well, you managed to get the branches across, I think." Her father laughed. "And to be honest, you're much further along than I was at your age. You might be able to get a full image by the end of the year!"

"I need to do it _quicker_ if I'm going to keep up with Sakura, Dad!" Ino protested with a huff. "Sakura's training under the _Tsuchikage_, she's probably learning all sorts of cool jutsu that'll blow people away, and I can't even get more than _one_ clan technique down!" She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and concentrating again. "One more time, this time I know I can do it."

She missed the softened look on her father's face, and the smile that came to it. "One more time." He agreed.

One more time turned into a dozen, until Ino felt the strain of chakra exhaustion begin to work its way through her body. She'd heard stories, of course, of how the Yamanaka had been able to transfer information across the battlefield in the blink of an eye, keeping squads connected through the sheer telepathic power of their chakra. If she'd been able to do this sort of thing at the chuunin exams…

Well, it wouldn't have helped her beat Sakura, no, but maybe it could be a stepping stone for something even _greater_, something that would let her kick Sakura's ass and win the heart of…

Ino hesitated.

Mentioning Sasuke in the village had become something of a taboo. The majority of the villagers spoke the Uchiha name with either scorn or a pity that resembled grieving. Grieving for what was. Grieving for the fall of the two brothers who had been the pride and joy of one of the village's founding clans. And Ino knew especially not to mention Sasuke around Naruto, not unless she wanted to see the blonde fall into a slump for the rest of the day.

Maybe once she'd thought Sasuke handsome, desirable, but now, after seeing the fallout from his leaving, even her past crush seemed soured.

She hit the point where her father insisted she take a break, so Ino made her way out into the village for a walk. Perhaps she was just moping, but...well, it was only a matter of time before she mastered that damn technique. And then, bigger and better things, just like Naruto was always talking about.

And speaking of…

It was supposed to be Team Asuma's day off, but as Ino walked by Training Ground Twelve, she noticed a familiar shock of orange and blonde hair lying in the grass. Amused, Ino made her way over to kneel at Naruto's side. Sleeping like a baby. It was easy to overlook how hard the Uzumaki had been working since he'd joined up with Team Asuma. Training under Tsunade _and_ Jiraiya, and going out on missions on top of that.

Compared to him, Ino's training was barely _anything_.

"...hey, Naruto." Ino poked at the boy's forehead. "It's not good to sleep in the grass for so long, you know? You'll end up like Shikamaru."

"Mmm…'no, five more minutes…"

"Idiot." Ino lightly rapped Naruto with her knuckles. "Wouldn't you prefer to be in a bed?"

"Bed? But I..._oh_!" Naruto suddenly shot forward, his hair and jacket covered in grass. "I wasn't sleeping! I was training! Training, I promise!"

Ino couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, come on, Naruto, I'm not gonna tell Jiraiya you were sleeping. But this is supposed to be our day off, you know. What were you even practicing?"

"I...wasn't practicing anything, actually." Naruto admitted. "Not really. I actually...uh, Ino, can you keep a secret?"

Ino smirked. Naruto, keeping secrets? How incredibly unlike him. She leaned in, her smirk growing mischievous. "Wait, don't tell me...are you training to impress a _girl_, Naruto?"

"N-no, not like that! I mean-" Naruto blushed. "I mean it'd be really cool if I could show off to Sakura next time I see her, but this is something different. But...well, I don't really know if I'm supposed to tell you the secret. It's so secret that nobody else our age knows besides Sakura, I'm pretty sure."

"_That_ secret? Now I really want to know." Ino kept leaning in, now more eager than ever. "Come on, I can keep a secret, you can tell me. Tell me, _tell_ me!"

"...but you might not like me anymore if I tell you."

Ino froze. Not...like him anymore? Well, Naruto could be a bit of a dolt at times, but what could Naruto have possibly done that would have-

"I...I have the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of me, Ino."

"W-what? You're joking, Naruto, how could you…"

Naruto was known for pranking, wasn't he? This was just some silly prank, it had to be. But the way Naruto was looking at her, desperate, worried, looking scared enough that he almost looked _sick_…

The Nine-Tailed Fox…

She didn't have any memories of the day when the Fox had attacked the village. She hadn't even been a month old. But the stories...she'd heard the stories. Stories about how the monster had killed so many shinobi and civilians, how it was only due to the Fourth Hokage that the village survived at _all_.

And Naruto was...containing it?

"So...it's like how Gaara is?"

Ino found that she wasn't exactly scared to hear about Naruto having a demon inside of him. Sakura had been traveling with that scary Suna shinobi for months now, and the way she wrote about Gaara it was like the two had been friends all their life.

It made sense now, though, why Sakura had suddenly become so interested in Jinchuuriki. Her _teammate_ was one, it was _stupid_ that she hadn't seen it earlier. The way Naruto had trounced Neji Hyuuga at the chunin exams, the way he seemed to have such boundless energy in their missions...all that chakra had to come from somewhere, and of _course_ it would come from a Bijuu.

"Sakura said Gaara has a Bijuu inside him too. I think she calls it Shukaku?" Ino explained, laughing nervously. "I mean, I don't really know that much about it, but you're nowhere near as scary as Gaara so I don't think I have anything to worry about. Maybe you have the Fox, but you're still a dork that falls asleep in the grass and won't eat anything but ramen unless I drag him to the grocery store."

"You...you really mean it, Ino?"

Naruto looked hopeful now, and Ino hadn't realized just how much it meant to him that she...what, not freak out? It wasn't as though he'd given her a reason too. Naruto wasn't a killer, not like Gaara had been. Naruto was just…

Naruto.

Not a Fox. Not a demon. Just regular, old Naruto.

"Yeah I mean it." Ino reached out to knock her knuckles against Naruto's head again. "And you know, Shikamaru and Chouji won't care about anything like that either."

It was starting to make sense now, why the adults always seemed to hate Naruto so much. Ino had thought it was because the boy was a prankster, but...if all people saw was the Fox, every time they looked at him, then…

She thought of how Sakura was, back when she let her hair cover her eyes and was so shy that she could barely speak up for herself. But as soon as she'd started to tie her hair back and show off her face, she'd started to grow more confident…

No, no, that...that hadn't been it. It wasn't just the ribbon.

It'd been _her_.

Ino had been the one to acknowledge her. To be her first friend. Ino had been the one to help her come out of her shell.

But if she hadn't gone to Sakura that day, if she hadn't helped her out...what kind of person would Sakura have become?

If Naruto didn't have friends...would he have been more like Gaara?

Suddenly, Ino felt mad. Mad at the village for shunning Naruto in such a way. Mad that they'd almost made a monster out of Naruto, monster within him notwithstanding.

"I...guess I kind of expected you to freak out more."

Ino snapped back to the present. Naruto was talking again. "I mean, the way everyone else in the village looks at me, I figured it was luck I found people who were willing to be my friend at all, you know?"

"Wrong." Ino retorted. "It's not like the Fox is breaking out any time soon, right? And I don't have a problem with _you_. You work harder than Shikamaru and Chouji _combined_, and if you're on our team next time we're in the chuunin exams, we're gonna breeze right through to the finals."

"Wait, you mean...you _want_ me on your team for the exams?"

"Duh."

"Oh. Well. O-okay, I'll do my best!" Naruto put up a fist, and there it was, that fire in his eyes that Ino had gotten used to seeing. "You know I'll kick serious ass, you can count on me! Believe it!"

"Yeah, yeah, but you still haven't told me why you were training out here." Ino reminded him. "Something to do with the Fox?"

"Uh-huh. Well...you see, Gaara sent me a letter recently talking about Shukaku, and...well, he apparently _talks_ with Shukaku a lot so I figured maybe _I_ could try and talk to the Fox, but he never wants to talk to me. He's always either pretending to be asleep or griping about how annoying I am."

"What do you think you'll get by _talking_ to him?" Ino asked, baffled. "He tried to destroy the village, of course he's gonna be all scary and angry all the time!"

"Well, Shukaku was like that too, but Gaara said he's been more friendly since they started talking!" Naruto protested. "I wondered if maybe...if maybe the Fox has been alone all this time and wants a friend too."

It was...bafflingly naive, but Ino couldn't fault the logic. And the sympathy behind it. Maybe, in a strange way, Naruto was starting to see himself in the Fox.

It gave her an idea. A stupid idea. An idea so hilariously stupid that her father would have grounded her for a year if he ever heard her _considering_ an idea so stupid.

"What if…"

_No, Ino, don't do it. Too stupid, too risky…_

"What if...I tried to talk to him?"

"What?" Naruto blinked. "How the heck are you gonna talk to him? He's inside _me_!"

"Don't you remember who I _am_, Naruto?" Ino scoffed. "I'm the beautiful and powerful heir to the Yamanaka Clan! And you remember our signature technique, don't you?"

"The...Mind-Transfer Jutsu?" Naruto frowned as he thought. "So you're saying you want to get in my head so that you can talk to the Fox? But why would you want to do that?"

_Because I'm an idiot way in over her head._

_But damn it all if I'm not curious._

"Maybe he'll be more receptive if he talks to someone pretty like me!" Ino offered with a gesture. "After all, Naruto, boys like you are disasters when it comes to saying the right thing, you know. Plus...it might not even work." It was possible her jutsu wouldn't be able to breach the seal that had been put on the beast; after all, what sort of seal would it be if a Yamanaka could tear it apart from the inside? But it was worth a shot, she supposed, if only to say that it wasn't possible. And if it _did_ work…

Well then she'd be able to help Naruto out. And maybe even learn something about the Fox that she could hold over Sakura whenever she decided to get her butt back to Konoha.

"Can you hold still for about five seconds?"

"Yeah sure, Ino, but are you _really_ sure you want to do this?"

"Nope." Ino retorted with a grin. "So let's give it a go!"

Before Naruto could talk her out of it, Ino concentrated and made the hand sign she needed. She felt a rush of weightlessness as her mental energy was shot from her body, and time seemed to slow down, second by second, until she felt herself crash into Naruto.

And then everything went dark.

In a vague sense, she was aware of Naruto's body. Perhaps could even control it if she really focused. But the dark room that had grown around her was taking precedence, until eventually all she could see was the room itself, and nothing of Naruto at all.

But she did _hear_ something.

Breathing. Heavy, deep breathing that seemed to fill wherever it was she had ended up. She could almost _feel_ the air pushing against her.

And then, all at once, an eye appeared before her, blinking open and glowing with unnatural chakra.

"**Oh look. A new snack**."

Ino awoke back in her body with a scream.

That thing...that thing had been _huge_.

_How the hell did the Fourth manage to seal something like that inside of a boy?_

She heard a groan as Naruto came back into consciousness, and she had to do her best to hide the panic that had overtaken her body. Naruto _wasn't_ the Fox, she reminded herself. Just...just a container. Just Naruto, Naruto who helped her keep Shikamaru and Chouji in line, Naruto who had taken a shuriken to the chest in her place on the last mission, Naruto who had...who _was_ her teammate. Who would still _be_ her teammate.

"Did it work?" Naruto asked? "Everything went black for a minute, but I don't remember anything else."

Ino took a deep breath before nodding. "It worked." She told him. "It worked. I saw it."

And next time…

Next time she wasn't running away.

* * *

He'd said it before and he'd say it again.

Girls were _troublesome_.

Initially Shikamaru had thought it was simply a clash of personalities. The girls he knew, with perhaps the exception of one Hinata Hyuuga, were boisterous, egotistical, loud, and _bossy_. And Shikamaru wasn't exactly one to want to boss people around himself, but really, that didn't mean _others_ had to be so commanding, and that other usually happened to be a _girl._

But this, what he had in his hands right now…

This was a whole new _level_ of troublesome. And it began with '_Dear Shikamaru_'.

He didn't know what he'd done to deserve the letter. He barely even _knew_ Sakura, short of the ramblings that Ino tended to default too whenever anyone dared mention the sheer concept of Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura was _Ino's_ rival in love, _Ino's_ rival in skill, and...well, he supposed she _was_ Naruto's old teammate, and Naruto did talk about her a lot, but that had nothing to do with _him_. He could count the number of times he'd spoken to her on one hand. He couldn't logically consider a friend, just an acquaintance at best, nothing to justify this stupid _letter_.

And of course, because _clearly_ he'd done something truly horrible in a past life to justify this, the majority of the damn letter was written in some sort of _code_.

(And damn her, now his curiosity meant he _had_ to solve it.)

Only the first sentence was immediately legible. 'Dear Shikamaru, for your eyes only, for the sake of our friends'. Ominous, vague, and irritating. And then, oh then, came the code.

IYa-2-4-13-4. IYa-1-1-4-5. NaU-1-3-15-4. RiRo-4-6-11-2.

The code was full of sequences like these, and it went on and on for an entire _scroll_. Sakura must have spent hours putting this together, and then she'd had the audacity to put it behind a code that _nobody in the entire goddamn village knew_. It wasn't a typical Konoha code. As far as he could tell, it wasn't anything the _Anbu_ used either, and how would Sakura have gotten her hands on something like that anyway? For a brief moment, Shikamaru considered that it might be an Iwa code, since Sakura had been supposedly training there, but there was no way he could crack an _Iwa_ code, was there?

And then she had to go and say that whatever the hell she'd written in here had been for the sake of 'their friends'. Which meant she clearly thought it was important. Which meant that Shikamaru couldn't just throw the damn letter into a ditch and forget about it.

IYa. NaU. RiRo. Each of the sequences began with one of those three character combinations. If he could just figure out what they _meant_.

Shikamaru groaned as he trudged across the Konoha training grounds. He'd been mulling over the letter for three days now, trying to piece together the contents within. And he was _stuck_.

And he was starting to kind of hate being stuck.

But what he _did_ know was that he didn't know enough about Sakura Haruno. And there were two immediate people in his life who did.

Ino, he didn't feel like bothering on a day off, but he could _always_ count on Naruto to be training even when the idiot was supposed to be resting. It was just a matter of finding out which training ground they were…

Ah. And..._oh_.

There was Naruto. And Ino. Oh god, they weren't making out, were they? No...no it looked like they were doing something else. Ino was...gesturing. Was that the Mind Transfer Jutsu?

He watched as both Ino and Naruto slumped into the grass. And...Naruto didn't get up. It looked as though the jutsu had worked, so why wasn't Ino controlling Naruto?

_Why the hell was everyone around him so __**weird**__?_

Eventually, Ino awoke, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes as she pulled herself back into a sitting position. Not long after, Naruto awoke as well. They both looked at each other, and then began to talk excitedly.

What the hell?

Shikamaru resisted the urge to groan as he approached the two, scroll clenched in one hand.

"Should I even bother asking what you're doing?"

"Oh! Shikamaru!" Ino startled. "Um, well...Naruto, you can tell him! If...if you want. I mean…"

"Nothing!" Naruto shook his head. "We're just screwing around. It's our day off, ya know?"

"Screwing around with...Mind Transfer Jutsu?"

"Uh…"

Shikamaru sighed. Alright, maybe he really _shouldn't_ want to know, but...now he sort of had to. "Is it something that's going to get one of you killed?"

"That's a big question with a lot of answers." Ino replied with a small laugh. "But it _shouldn't_ kill us. Oh, come _on_, Naruto, I told you he isn't going to care, just _tell him_."

"You tell him if you're so eager!"

"Okay!" Ino brightened up. "We're talking with the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

...there was far too much to process in that statement. Far, _far_ too much. Never mind that such a statement suggested that the Nine-Tailed Fox was sentient enough to hold a conversation, never mind the implication that the Nine-Tailed Fox was somewhere close enough to _talk_ to, never mind that talking with it somehow involved the…

Shikamaru could have slapped himself. Of _course_ Naruto was a goddamn Jinchuuriki. He should have seen it sooner. Take the most troublesome scenario ever and multiply it by ten, and that was his life! His new teammate was a Jinchuuriki!

"Alright, I'm going to overlook that in favor of something even more troublesome." Shikamaru answered, not failing to notice the look of apparent relief on Naruto's face. Had he been...worried? It wasn't like other villages didn't have Jinchuuriki. They were fairly standard for each of the Big Five. And he wasn't anything like that creepy _Gaara_ at least. Without further ado, he shoved the scroll in Naruto's direction. "Do you wanna tell me what the hell your old teammate is trying to tell me?"

"Huh? She sent _you_ a letter too?" Naruto frowned as he opened the scroll. Then, he started to laugh. "What the heck, Shikamaru, it's all nonsense! Sakura would never have written something so weird."

"Then it's probably not _nonsense_, Naruto. Let me look at it."

For a while, the two squabbled over the letter, passing it back and forth to get a look. It was great, just _great. _If they didn't have any clues off the bat, this was probably a dead end. Really, what had Sakura been _thinking_?

_For the sake of our friends…_

Their friends.

Suddenly, all at once, it clicked.

"Wait, give that back!" Shikamaru snatched the letter from a whining Naruto, looking over the code. IYa...NaU…

Ino Yamanaka. Naruto Uzumaki. And RiRo…who else would Sakura consider a friend in the village? Kakashi's name didn't fit, and he was fairly certain it wasn't a relative of Sakura's, it had to be a friend…

Ri...Ro…

Ri..._Lee. _Rock fucking Lee.

But what the _hell _did the numbers mean?

"...Ino. Naruto. Sakura's been writing you letters, right?"

"Uh, yeah, just not anything weird like that." Ino answered with a frown.

"Can I see them?"

"What? Why? Does the word _private_ mean anything to you?"

"I think she wanted me to see them." Shikamaru retorted. "Ino, she's written you...four letters so far, correct? Naruto, five for you? And...Lee should have 8, if this pattern follows."

"What? She wrote _Lee_ more than me?" Both Naruto and Ino spoke in unison before looking at each other in confusion.

"I'm not here to listen to you two bicker. I _need_ to see those letters. I promise I won't need them long."

It took some corralling, but eventually Shikamaru had access to all of Ino and Naruto's letters. And maybe he didn't have Lee's but there were only twenty-six letters to the alphabet and he could probably deduce the missing ones without going to talk with the annoying jump-suit boy.

Ino Yamanaka, letter two, paragraph four, word thirteen, fourth letter…

That one was an 'i'.

Slowly, piece by piece, he was solving this damn thing.

"_I am sorry to put you through this Shikamaru, but I cannot be too careful. There are people in the village that you cannot trust. Do not transcribe this letter to paper. I know you are smart enough to decode it in your head. You're the smartest person I know, and that is the reason I am writing to you specifically._

_I need your help. There is an organization woven deep into Konoha called Root, and I have reason to believe that it is not working, as it claims, for the good of the village, but for the ambition of its leader. I believe they have kidnapped children from other villages to brainwash into perfect shinobi soldiers. I believe they perpetuated Orochimaru's research while he was still in the village. And it's possible there are many more dark secrets that I have yet to deduce. Most importantly, if they find out that I am writing to you about them, it is possible they might kill you._

_If you don't want to involve yourself further, I understand. Burn this letter and never mention it to anyone; I'm sure Root will leave you alone. But Shikamaru, if you have an ounce of loyalty in you, to your friends, your village, your people...you need to keep reading. And you need to help me to root out Root."_

...girls were so damned _troublesome_.

A very large part of Shikamaru wanted to burn the letter and forget he ever read it. An organization called Root that worked within Konoha? Wouldn't the Hokage at least know about it? He couldn't imagine Tsunade allowing the kidnapping of foreign children for any means. He couldn't even imagine the _Third_ allowing that. And that it was an organization that might have involved Orochimaru as well...what the _fuck_ was Sakura trying to drag him into?

...and damn it all, if it was true, if _any_ of it was true, he couldn't just sit around and _let it happen_.

So Shikamaru made his way into the depths of the Nara forest, deeper than anyone but the clan was allowed to go. Once there, he sat down beneath the shade of his favorite tree, and began to read Sakura's letter.

* * *

There was a deep wind in these woods, a howling wind that would have terrified the man if he wasn't just a little less than human himself.

But Orochimaru was beyond most concepts of fear by now. He had seen the depths of the darkest jutsu, lived beyond death itself, fought powers that were _far_ more frightening than whatever nature had to throw at him. No, rather, it was the things in the woods that fled from _him_, rightfully so. He moved from branch to branch as smoothly as a snake stalking prey, and the things in the woods saw him as _predator. _

Orochimaru glanced back in time to see the glimpses of his companions behind him. Kabuto had long learned the art of moving silently, but young Sasuke had yet to quite master that balance between swift and quiet. Every now and then a branch cracked, a leaf fluttered...but he was young, of course, and still leagues ahead of where even he had been at such an age. Besides, it wasn't important now for Sasuke to be perfect, nor would it ever be.

Once Sasuke's body was well and truly _his_...all of his decades of experience would more than suffice.

For now, this was an experience meant to stretch the boy's legs, but that was merely a secondary benefit to the excursion. The real reason he was here, the real reason he'd ran across Sound Country and into the unclaimed lands of the Mountain's Graveyard, was that he was here to make a very _important_ transaction.

Normally Orochimaru would have considered it foolish to step foot onto Akatsuki territory, but the majority of the organization had left the Graveyard months ago, and Orochimaru knew he had little to fear from the member he was moving to meet, as long as he and his kept civil. Kabuto, he could trust. Sasuke...this would be a test. Teenagers were notoriously difficult, and Sasuke, under the weight of trauma, could be excruciating under the wrong circumstances. Orochimaru was...mostly positive that Itachi wasn't here, but if the Uchiha _did_ show up…

A dilemma he did not want to consider. A dilemma he hoped his contact had taken into account.

The trees suddenly cleared around them, and before them stretched a vast plain, dominated by the sight of one of the most massive skeletons Orochimaru had ever seen. What the animal used to be, even he hadn't a clue. Something ancient, something old, something that predated even the eldest of his summoning snakes. At some point, when he could justify it, Orochimaru longed to get a bone sample, something he could use to try and clone one of the beasts...but for now, there wasn't exactly room in his tiny spit of a country.

For now, the bones were simply a landmark, somewhere easy to find so that a meeting could take place without interference. No shinobi was brave enough to come this deep into the Graveyard, not even the Taki shinobi, with all their superstition.

"What is it?" Orochimaru heard Sasuke ask.

"Something too old for history to have remembered it." Kabuto explained. "Judging by the structure, it appears similar to modern reptiles. It's a good thing for us that nothing that large exists anymore, don't you think, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

Curiosity. Not unusual for Sasuke. When it came to combat, Sasuke tended to be a quiet, determined learner, but when it came to knowledge outside of battle...Sasuke was surprisingly studious. For a brief moment, Orochimaru felt pity for the boy. Pity that he was to be the last of his bloodline. Pity that he was doomed to become Orochimaru's own vessel. If not for the tragedy, the boy might have grown to become a shinobi that rivaled his own greatness…

"Ah, there he is, Lord Orochimaru."

Indeed he was. In the far distance, at the base of the skeleton's massive ribcage, a figure appeared. The figure was all white...definitely unusual. Orochimaru was far more accustomed to seeing both halves of the being known as Zetsu. If only the White had been sent...what business had occupied the creature that was so much more important?

It mattered little. If he backed down now...he would never get what he'd came for.

Orochimaru made his way down from the massive tree branches, quietly landing on one after the other until coming to the ground in a quiet rustle of wind. Kabuto came next, and Sasuke not far behind him. He could see the White Zetsu smile as he approached...perhaps a quaint attempt to appear unearthly, but the attempt was enough to send a noticeable shiver of fear through young Sasuke. There would be questions from the boy later, he was sure of it. For now…

"You have brought what I asked for, I hope?"

"One lock, as requested." The Zetsu brought for a small vial. Within, Orochimaru caught sight of a bundle of silvery hairs. Hairs that could have belonged to anyone. He had no doubt that the Zetsu could easily deceive him, just as he himself planned on deceiving the Zetsu. But the chance, for the _chance_ that this lock was what he desired…

Well worth the risk.

"Kabuto." Orochimaru gestured to his servant, and the man stepped forward, producing a scroll and opening it for Zetsu to see.

"Details on the Resurrection Technique." Kabuto explained. "As the notes mention, it will require a human sacrifice to bring back the soul of the deceased. Though I doubt that will be a problem for you."

"Not at all." The Zetsu replied, still grinning. Kabuto snapped the scroll shut again and moved forward in time with the Zetsu.

There was a moment, a brief moment, in which everyone there tensed. A moment in which anyone could have drawn a blade or started a hand sign. A moment in which betrayal would have been as easy as breathing.

The vial touched Kabuto's hand, and the scroll touched Zetsu's. Both shinobi backed away, and Orochimaru could see a small breath of relief come from Kabuto's lips.

"Thank you for your business, Zetsu. Be sure to give Pein my regards."

"You could always come back to us, Orochimaru. There is place in our organization for your skills."

"As always, a tempting offer. But I have much _bigger_ things in mind."

The group separated without much further pleasantries. It was only once they were a mile from the meeting point that Orochimaru allowed himself to ease up. It had been a gamble on his end, of course, but he doubted Zetsu would immediately discover that the scroll he'd been given had been altered slightly from Orochimaru's original design: one simple symbol with an extra line through it, enough to ensure the technique wouldn't last more than an hour.

It was still a useful technique, but not nearly as useful as Orochimaru's own perfected product. And that was how it should be. If he just let _anyone_ have access to his carefully crafted techniques, well...he'd be quite the sellout.

"What are those hairs?"

"Something that needn't concern you, Sasuke." Orochimaru answered automatically. He reached out to take the bottle from Kabuto, examining it with a critical eye. The hairs seemed...well, they _looked_ like hairs.

Time would tell if they were truly locks of the being known as Kaguya.

"Come, Sasuke. We have a long journey home, and along the way you will perfect your chakra control. I expect silence on the road back."

"...hn."

He was a stubborn boy. But a powerful one. Soon...soon Sasuke would be his and full.

And the steps to creating his final vessel had, as of now, finally begun.

* * *

"Son of a shit-fucked riceball, that _hurts_!"

"Maybe next time, don't allow yourself to be cut in half during a simple bounty hunt."

"Eat a cock, Kakuzu! You're making it hurt on purpose!"

Never mind that it was always _him_ taking the majority of the damage whenever they went on these 'simple hunts'. In all of his years working for Akatsuki, Hidan hadn't seen the man take lethal damage _once_. And maybe it was his life's purpose to be a vessel for pain, but that didn't mean his partner couldn't, well, be a _goddamn_ partner every now and then and help out beyond making some dumbass comment about Hidan's fighting style. The only useful quality the bastard had was the ability to sew Hidan back together if the worst came to it. But damn if the process didn't _hurt_.

Hidan wistfully thought of his old home, the Jashin enclave hidden within the depths of Yugakure. The healers there, the members of the shitty 'Calm Path'...well, at least they were gentler than this. Hidan found himself longing for the easy regeneration of the Jushisai.

(He could just _leave_...not even Akatsuki knew where the Jashin enclave was hidden. He could run home, hide away until he was forgotten, stop getting involved in this stupid, fucking mess…)

Hidan shook the cowardly thoughts from his head. Jashin would _smite_ him for running away from a job like this one. At some point, once they had enough information, once they were _prepared_, Akatsuki would move out against the Jinchuuriki. The ultimate challenge, and the ultimate destruction, right? How many shinobi alive could say they'd fought a Demon Host and won? Never mind, of course, that it was much more in line with his belief to destroy the Bijuu entirely, rather than resealing it, but that was a step he could work out along the way.

Jashin, for whatever reason, had set him on this path. Jashin had led Akatsuki to him, that was something that had been agreed upon by his elders. Fuck the elders, Hidan mused, but...the elders needed to be shown at least outward respect. One of the tenants of Jashinism. Tenants he had sworn to follow for such glorious gifts.

Hidan winced as Kakuzu pulled the final thread through his skin. He'd need to remain still for a while, until his body regenerated, but for now, at least, he was in one piece. "Thanks." He grumbled.

"Don't screw up next time." Kakuzu answered, his typical response.

Hidan really hated the fucker.

Kakuzu left Hidan's side to go and wrap up the body of the kunoichi Hidan had lovingly sacrificed. Off the shinobi would go to claim the bounty, leaving Hidan behind to recuperate and catch up when his leg finally worked again. It definitely gave Hidan time to think.

He wondered, briefly, if the young kunoichi he'd met in Plains had really been interested in the faith, or if she'd only _really_ been interested in the immortality. It was a rare gift, he'd been told, one that Jashin granted only to one at a time. One who exemplified the beliefs of the Violent Path. Until Hidan was erased from the world, he would be the only one who carried such an ability. Such was the will of Jashin. If Kakuzu or Pein or any of the other Akatsuki fuckers knew what sort of shinobi they'd been _allowed_ onto their team...he certainly deserved a lot more fuckin' respect.

Pinkie would never obtain immortality. But Jashin could help her to get stronger, that much Hidan could guarantee. Assuming she made it all the way to the depths of Yu and found the hidden enclave within the mountainside. Assuming she wasn't killed on the way in. Hidan found himself rooting for her, in a way. The way she'd punched that Hiroshi guy, hard enough that he'd _heard_ the man's jawbones crackle...it had been like beautiful, _beautiful_ music. He could imagine her training in the steam-shrouded rooms of Peace and Violence. He could see her, bright-eyed, ready to kill, training as an apprentice at his side…

If not for the _goddamned Akatsuki_.

Jashin sent him to this group for a reason, Hidan reminded himself. He had heard the decree in his dreams, felt it within the power that resonated within him. Jashin wanted him _here_. But why? Why was it so important to be here _now_?

Pein claimed that they were going to unite the shinobi world and save it from destroying itself. Rightfully so, Pein claimed that humanity was naturally prone to war, and that he could use strength to force the shinobi world to follow his will, and end fights before they began. Pein even had the audacity, the _gall_, to claim himself a god. Hidan knew better, of course. He'd met Jashin _long_ before he'd ever so much as heard the name of Pein, and even though Pein was strong, perhaps even stronger than himself...Pein was no Jashin. Pein couldn't possibly unite the shinobi world.

But somehow, through Hidan's being in Akatsuki...somehow, despite all thoughts to the contrary…

Hidan would help lead the world to salvation.

What a stupid, strange thought, that Jashin would insist upon the actions of a Hageshisai in order to ensure the world's salvation. Hidan was a _destroyer_, meant to annihilate his foes in Jashin's name, meant to ensure _violence_, not _peace_.

But who was he to deny the will of his god?

As Hidan tested the mobility of his legs, he began to say a silent prayer to Jashin. A prayer for guidance. A prayer for answers. A prayer for the bloody patience not to strangle Kakuzu and his five hearts while the man slept. If Jashin was expecting him to stick around with Akatsuki…

He was going to need a _lot_ of divine assistance.

* * *

A deep, retching cough sounded through the room, and Kisame saw dark blood on the hand of Itachi Uchiha.

Lung disease, progressing at a rate that would kill the man within a year or two. Itachi did not have long to live, and yet, refused all medical help beyond simple pills. Willpower, a stronger willpower than Kisame had ever seen in a man, was what was truly keeping the Uchiha alive. A pity. Itachi was one of the few men that Kisame truly respected...the only one still alive, if he was honest with himself.

To anyone else, it might have seemed strange to see the Monster of the Hidden Mist lay a gentle hand upon Itachi's back. But Kisame supposed no one would ever truly know the real him as Itachi did.

"You're still so determined to die at your brother's hands? If you don't get help, you won't make it long enough to _glimpse_ him, let alone convince him of a proper fight."

"We've discussed this before, Kisame."

Back and forth, this talk usually went. Kisame tried in vain to save Itachi's life, and Itachi stubbornly pushed himself further and further into his own grave. If it were anyone else, Kisame would have let them die. A man who had lost the will to live was hardly a man at all. But without Itachi, if he _considered_ the world without Itachi in it...Kisame had nothing left.

Akatsuki, perhaps, though Kisame held no true loyalty to it. It had been a way to pass the time until his assignment to Itachi, and once the bastard Uchiha had wormed his way into Kisame's heart, motives had changed. Keep Itachi alive. Help him see his goals achieved. And then…

And then…

If he allowed Akatsuki to dominate Konoha, would that be a stain upon Itachi's memory? But was he even capable of stopping Akatsuki alone? A rock and a hard place, that was where he had ended up. Only ever loosely tied to one thing at a time. As fickle and fierce as the waves back home.

"Kisame, you should get something to eat."

"Not until you've stopped coughing."

"What are you going to do?"

Itachi looked up at him, dark eyes seeming to read his very thoughts. "What will you do?" Itachi repeated. "When I am gone? You deserve more than what Akatsuki has given you."

"What I want does not exist." Kisame retorted. He would amuse Itachi, if only for a little while. "The world is full of traitors and scum, and I am the worst of the lot. What sort of home would have a use for a shinobi like me? I killed my superior. I have killed my comrades for the sake of some greater good...but what good is worth the lives of others? I have yet to see it, Itachi. I have yet to see a meaning for this life of mine. You, at the very least, will die giving purpose to your brother. I will likely die a meaningless death, one that will serve to benefit someone else only briefly before they too are overthrown." He chuckled to himself, sharp teeth scraping across each other as he did so. "There is no true honesty in this world. No one truly worth following. I'm lucky enough to have found a friend, and even he will leave me soon."

"Kisame…"

"I have to try." Kisame admitted. "Try to give you a reason to live beyond your brother. If I don't, then I really will have lived a meaningless life."

"...I will get further aid for myself, if you promise me something."

"Hm?" Interesting. Itachi had never bargained before. Perhaps it was becoming too much to bear.

"Promise me, once I am gone, that you will look for someone worth following."

This time, Kisame laughed fully, heartily. Someone worth following?

Such a person likely didn't exist.

Still, as he gently rubbed Itachi's back, he had to admit that he didn't have anything better to occupy himself with, once Itachi was dead. He was neutral to Akatsuki. Neutral to the world. But if Itachi asked...if _Itachi _asked...

"Alright, you stubborn bastard." He answered. "I'll look. I won't find anyone. But I'll look."

Itachi coughed again, but despite it all, the man had a smile.


	33. Chapter 33

_Second Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact:  
All villages who henceforth sign this agreement are to be considered in alignment. The implications of such are that no village under the pact shall actively declare war, sabotage, or otherwise harm either the other villages in the pact, or the shinobi under each village's jurisdiction. If a village is suspected to have broken this tenant, unless evidence is otherwise undeniable, the village will be put to trial to determine guilt. Upon guilty verdict, the village will be suspended from alliance and subject to retaliation. _

_Every village has a right to a trial consisting of both members of the Shinobi Neutrality Project, as well as peers from their own village and other villages within the alliance._

* * *

Sakura was the only one who slept soundly at night.

At first, Gaara wasn't sure if Kakashi Hatake slept at all. Despite the fact that Gaara truly did not sleep, (and had been more than willing to take up permanent night watch), shifts had still been agreed upon so that Gaara would not have to be constantly alert. Still, even the slightest movement caused the Konoha jounin's single eye to open and scan the area, even if the movement was just the falling of a leaf or a squirrel scampering across a branch. There were times, _rare_ times, where movement wouldn't stir the man, Gaara's only clue that Kakashi was capable of sleep, but those times only came, interestingly enough, when it was Sakura's shift.

Sai, in contrast, clearly _tried_ to sleep, but was incapable of more than hour long rests before his body began to twitch and he woke up in a state that was far more emotional than his usual blank slate. Nightmares. Gaara had seen Sakura experience them occasionally, but never nightly. Gaara had never understood why one's mind would force a person to live through horrific scenes at a time when they were supposed to be resting, but then again, there had been little in Gaara's life that unnerved him. For Sai to experience nightmares nightly...what had he been put through, under Root? Was Konoha's underground truly so terrifying, so brutal?

Gaara wondered if that was why Kakashi didn't sleep. When Gaara considered nightmares...well, he was grateful that he couldn't experience them himself.

The woods were louder at night than he had expected. Insects, rodents, and nocturnal birds all chattered and chirped, and the wind on the mountain whistled through the spindly leaves of the trees around them. As far as he knew, they were still in Iwa territory, but had yet to come across any patrols or any merchants traveling the main road. The only other sign of sentient life had been the chakra signature Sakura had picked up on days before...and even that had yet to reveal itself again.

A man whose skin was black and white, with strange, plant-like growths...it sounded more like a nightmare than an actual real being.

Amazing, then, that Sakura could sleep so soundly. Was it a testament to her trust in him? With others around, Gaara found himself too embarrassed to ask.

Just a matter of time, he reminded himself, before Sai and Kakashi would return to Konoha, and it would be just the two of them again.

It was Kakashi's shift now, so Gaara allowed himself to stand up and stretch his legs. Kakashi, he trusted more than Sai, which meant during his shift he could wander the immediate area to keep himself from getting stiff and scout for anything that Kakashi might miss. On top of that, Gaara could continue to familiarize himself with forest environments, which were still...strange, compared to the flat, rocky deserts he had gotten used to navigating. Trees, being living things, exuded a very small amount of natural chakra that made it more difficult for his feet to grip onto, and unlike stone they swayed and buckled with wind and weight. Leaves could fall and create noise with the tiniest of touches, an animal could alarm if you came too close to its nest...all these things, Gaara had to learn, things that other shinobi had _grown up_ learning and taken somewhat for granted.

An hour passed as Gaara practiced stepping lightly from branch to branch, pine needles sticking to his clothes and his hair. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it.

The animal was small, the size of the cats he would often see running around the streets of Iwa, but unlike cats, this animal was stockier, with a fat tail and striped markings on its face. It was near silent as its pawed its way closer to the fire his comrades slept around, snuffling at the ground as it walked.

Dangerous? Probably not. Gaara doubted the animal was some sort of predator that could harm Sakura, and if it _had_ been, Kakashi would have killed it in a heartbeat. He briefly saw the jounin look its way before the man turned back to that strange, orange book of his. No, the animal was not a threat...but it was _very_ curious, to come so close to people without fear of death.

In a strange way, the animal looked...familiar. Had he seen such markings before?

**It's a tanuki, brat, it better damn well look familiar.**

A _tanuki_, so that was what it was. Gaara had heard the term used to describe Shukaku, knew vaguely that the animals existed, but he'd never _seen_ one before. How was it, he wondered, that Shukaku came to be in the desert, if other tanuki lived out here in the woods? If the animal was so curious, would it be friendly? Gaara had become admittedly fond of the cats he would sometimes run across in Iwa, understanding, after a time, why others valued the animals as pets. If this tanuki was calm enough, perhaps he could…

He heard a snort inside his mind from Shukaku. So...probably not. But Gaara had nothing better to do this late at night, and even if the animal did try to attack him, there would be no fangs or claws that could break through the sand he kept over his skin.

As Gaara made his way down the tree and towards the fire, the animal continued to snuffle about, eventually making its way towards Sakura's feet. It nibbled briefly at one of her shoes before moving on...looking for food, Gaara deduced. Food that they could probably spare. He reached into one of his pouches, tearing off a tiny piece of jerky as he approached the tanuki. Eventually, the tanuki caught sight of him, and it let out a small hiss as he came near.

Gaara simply crouched down and held out the jerky. He'd found cats liked it best when he was quiet and low...and after a moment, it seemed, the tanuki thought similarly. It took several minutes before the tanuki was confident enough to come close, grabbing the jerky from Gaara's hands with a quick, harsh movement before running off into the grass nearby. But it took the meat...and out of the corner of his eyes, Gaara saw what looked like a smile pass across Kakashi's masked face.

As they walked the next day, Gaara saw the animal follow them.

**You gave it food**. Shukaku lamented. **Now it'll never leave us alone. **

Gaara didn't see a problem with that.

Each night the tanuki would come shuffling into their camp, and Gaara would offer it a small bit of his rations. He could go without a small bit of dinner, he decided, if that meant his new small friend would stick around for a little bit longer. What he did not expect was, after several nights had passed, for the tanuki to start bringing friends.

Sometimes just one. Sometimes several. But each night Gaara found himself surrounded by several furry friends who all were more than eager to share in the jerky bounty that Gaara offered.

**Greedy little brats**. Shukaku commented. **Tanuki were a formidable race, but if this is what they have become…**

Gaara wondered if Shukaku had taken on the form of a tanuki before or after meeting the animals. As a being of pure chakra, he could look like anything, Gaara figured, and yet...he'd chosen this form. So one night, during a meditation, Gaara decided to ask.

**I didn't choose this form. **Shukaku admitted, huffing as he spoke. **None of my brethren did. We simply...were. I theorized that the energy that makes up my being resonates with the energy tanuki carry...though, the tiny brats you've been feeding barely have any chakra at all. **

"So there are tanuki that do have chakra? Do people summon them?"

**Not for years. Decades. Not since I was sealed away. Tanuki can hold a hell of a grudge, and they considered me one of their own. They thought humans were stupid enough before, but after putting me into a tea kettle, they washed their hands of humanity entirely. **Shukaku chuckled. **Kind of touching, now that I think about it. Makes me wonder what they've been up to all these years.**

As the nights slowly passed, Gaara wondered if one day that could change. He and Shukaku had been on much better terms since he'd begun to dedicate time to talk with the beast, so maybe, if he and Shukaku became close...maybe he could see these strong tanuki one day. A far off goal, maybe, but the small ones in the woods had warmed up to him fast enough.

It was one particular night, as a tanuki was tugging a piece of jerky from his fingers, that things suddenly changed. All at once, the tanuki froze, dropping the jerky and turning its head towards the woods nearby. Then, without much hesitation, it ran into the woods, leaving the food behind.

Unusual behavior. It was Kakashi's shift again, and Gaara found himself curious, so he began to walk in the direction the tanuki ran off to. It was dark, but the moon was mostly full, and Gaara had always had a knack for night vision.

What was even stranger was that it seemed as though the tanuki was _wanting_ him to follow. It would scamper off out of sight, but then wait until Gaara caught up before scampering off again. It went far, almost too far for Gaara to want to continue following, until eventually he saw further movement in the forest beyond.

Out of instinct, Gaara leapt into the tree next to him, hoping the pine needles would be enough to cover him. His instincts were correct.

There was a person in the woods.

Gaara watched as the tanuki confronted the person, growling and hissing in a manner that was unusual for the animal. It was only after a few seconds of looking when Gaara realized that the person had killed another tanuki, and had gotten halfway through skinning it before Gaara and his furry friend had arrived. Had the tanuki sensed its companion's death? It seemed...angry, angry at this person who had covered all of their identifying features with cloth and a white mask. There were slits for their eyes, but nothing else, not like Sai's mask which had markings and stripes. Nothing distinguishing on their clothes, no headband indicating a village...nothing.

But the person pushed away the hissing tanuki with a harsh kick, and suddenly in Gaara's mind the person was an Enemy.

His sand poured out from the 'scroll' on his back, slinking towards the person until it was close enough to wrap around their ankles and pull them quickly to the ground. The person struggled for a brief moment before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

A clone. Damn it all.

It would be smart to go for backup, but Gaara wasn't sure if the person knew about the existence of his comrades, and the last thing he wanted to do was lead a hostile stranger to Sakura.

The tanuki had gotten up again, and Gaara noted with glee that the animal had turned to face a certain part of the woods, fur up and still hissing angrily. Aha. His furry friend would be helpful after all. Gaara pushed himself from his hiding spot, now with a new objective in mind. Capture the enemy, figure out why a shinobi was out here in the woods alone. As he lunged forward, several kunai streaked towards him with pinpoint accuracy, deflected on time only due to the speed of his protective sand. A test throw, by the look of things, as Gaara caught sight of the shinobi turning to run once they realized their weapons were useless.

Running, Gaara realized, right towards his camp.

**Better kill them quick, brat**.

No, not kill. But definitely capture. Gaara sent out his sand ahead of him, lashing at the shinobi's legs to try and bring him down. He tripped the shinobi once, and before he could move in for the capture, the tanuki leapt in out of nowhere, biting down on the shinobi's wrist. Gaara heard the shinobi curse aloud, and that hesitation was all he needed to wrap his sand around the shinobi's body and restrain them.

For a moment, there was more struggling. Then, before Gaara could stop the shinobi, they pulled up their mask and shoved something into their mouth. Gaara heard choking, and saw something bubble in their mouth, and then the shinobi laid dead.

Gaara and Shukaku's thoughts resonated in one single line.

**What the **_**fuck**_ **just happened?**

* * *

Gaara brought the body back to camp, dropping it on the ground next to Kakashi, who looked, if anything, even more exhausted once he caught sight of it. He put a finger to his lips before gesturing for Gaara to follow him out of sight of their companions.

"I've been expecting this." Kakashi admitted as he began to examine the body. After a moment, he forced the mouth open, pulling the tongue out so Gaara could see. Though it was swollen from death, and the effect of whatever the person had swallowed, there was a very clear series of black marks on the tongue. "Look familiar?"

"Sai has those markings." Gaara answered. "A Root agent?"

"Yes, though he'll have tried to make damn sure we can't prove it. Those markings will fade away in about an hour, now that he's dead."

"But why?" Gaara demanded. "We already have a Root agent in our midst. Why is he here? And why kill himself?"

"Because we _don't_ actually have a Root agent in our midst." Kakashi countered. "About a month ago, Sai was ordered home. He hasn't responded to his order. As far as Root's leader is concerned, that's treason. Quite frankly, I'm amazed it took them this long to find us."

"They're here to kill Sai." Gaara deduced, frowning. "And what of Sakura and I? You?"

"No idea. But there will be more of them. Danzo isn't one to take a loss lightly. He'll try and catch us off guard a few times before he determines it's not worth the effort."

"Why haven't you told us before?" Gaara turned his frown to Kakashi. "This could mean life or death for Sakura. We needed heavier guard than just a simple night watch. I got lucky with this one, who knows how many more are out there."

"You're right. We do need to be more on our guard. But…" Kakashi sighed. "I was hoping Sai would just come out and tell us. I'm unsure why he's kept it to himself. When I confronted him...he denied it completely."

The two were silent for a moment as Kakashi began to rummage through the shinobi's things. Kunai, shuriken, some traps...but nothing more. Nothing 'damning', as Kakashi had put it.

"One more chance." Gaara decided.

"Hm?"

"Sai gets one more chance to come clean. Before the next round of Root tries to kill him again. Otherwise, I'll tell Sakura myself."

"Ah." Kakashi gave Gaara a smile. "Well, I can't say I disapprove of that. But Gaara, just…" Kakashi hesitated. Unusual, for him. "...just, be gentle with Sai. Root is a nightmare. If anything, you probably can understand him better than most, what it's like to be viewed as something less than human."

"You say that like you know it."

"I was part of Root, once." Kakashi admitted. "...fortunately, I got some sense knocked into me before I fell in too deep. I got lucky. Not everyone gets second chances like that."

"No." Gaara admitted. "Not everyone does."

But _he'd_ gotten a second chance. Naruto had knocked that sense into him, and now...now he was _better_. Not maniacal, not blood-thirsty...he had friends. He had a purpose.

Was Sai...in the same place he had been? Thinking himself hopelessly entrenched in a bloody future, unable to break free, no love, no friendship?

Sakura had reached out to him, tried to bring him into the group. In a way, she had already been doing for Sai what needed to be done. And here Gaara had been, trying to push him away out of...jealousy.

He was a selfish idiot.

Gaara buried the body. For now, Sai would be safe. Maybe he just needed time, time away from the influence of Root to realize that there were better paths, better options. And maybe, this time...maybe Gaara would try to reach out too.

As he and Kakashi made their way back to the fire, the tanuki was sitting there waiting for him, licking its paw to cover a small cut it had gotten in the scrap. As Gaara approached, it went to his side, rubbing its head against his leg in an affectionate manner.

Definitely a friend. It had just taken patience, understanding, and...a willingness to listen. The tanuki had led him to the Root shinobi. The friendship, beyond the simple goal of shared affection, had already proven worthwhile.

He'd just have to show Sai. Somehow. Someway. Friendship was worth it.


	34. Chapter 34

_Third Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact_

_The villages of the pact will stand as one. Any threat by outside force on one village is a threat on all. Villages in the alliance will deal with hostile forces together, in order to preserve the alliance as a whole._

* * *

It was official. Judging by the landmarks and how long they'd been traveling, Sakura had officially left Earth Country and crossed the border into the stretch of land owned by Taki shinobi. The land itself wasn't a 'country', not like other places she'd been to in the past, but rather a vast forest that was guarded solely by Takigakure. If there were other towns within the border, they were too small to show up on common maps.

Very few outsiders traveled to Taki. By the sound of things, there was simply very little reason to. Taki shinobi were extremely protective of their village, and most that had attempted to invade the land in the past had been repelled by what Sakura had read to be 'extremely powerful shinobi'. Even her own map only had a crude estimate for where the location of the village was. Sakura just hoped they'd run into a patrol and be able to explain the situation before it escalated into a fight.

Iwa had been known for being fairly protective, and she'd managed to win them over, regardless of the fact that it had been due to luck and fortuitous timing. Maybe luck would keep being on their side now.

There were three things she needed to address in Taki. First and foremost was bringing up the Neutrality Pact. She had literally no idea what Taki would think of such a venture, but she'd hoped, given shinobi history, that they would look at the idea favorably. The only past treaty that was even remotely comparable in scope to what she was attempting had been made back at the founding of the villages, when Hashirama Senju had attempted to unite the five major villages and stop the widespread war. Villages like Taki had supposedly existed back then, but had been considered too small to consider in such a treaty. By including them now, Taki would be considered on equal footing with villages like Iwa and Konoha. It was one of the reasons Plains had signed onto the agreement so readily. Such an agreement was potentially groundbreaking for a small village with little continental influence.

Second, there was a Jinchuuriki in Taki. The only village outside the major five to have one. Sakura had to wonder if part of the reason they were so efficient and repelling invaders was due to the power of their Bijuu. Regardless, Gaara had done well with making friends with the Iwa Jinchuuriki, so she hoped he might be able to work his magic with the next one.

Finally, there was the matter of the Akatsuki member Kakuzu.

She really only had a name and rumors. During her time in Iwa she had investigated the man that she had seen in Plains, and all she had managed to learn was that he was a prolific bounty hunter who wore a slashed Takigakure headband. Taki was the only lead she had when it came to finding out what such a shinobi was capable of, and in turn, it was possible that Kakuzu was the most major threat to them and their Jinchuuriki, given that he no doubt had knowledge of village secrets.

Three goals. That was what she had to focus on.

Of course that was rather odd when her traveling companions were acting so damn _odd_.

Kakashi had always kind of acted like he had several secrets up his sleeves. She was used to his unnaturally laid-back attitude and the fact that he always seemed to know more than he let on. So really, he was the most easy to ignore amidst the strangeness.

Sai, well, he'd always been a bit strange, that much was true. Sakura had chalked it up to the nature of his upbringing under Root. But even now, as he put on his usual fake smile and attempted to join in on her small talk, Sakura couldn't help but notice that he seemed...distracted. Constantly looking left and right, up and down, as though he was expecting something to come jumping out of a tree at any minute. Paranoid, yes that was the way to describe it. Sai was acting paranoid, had _been_ acting paranoid since the moment they'd left Iwa, and it was making _Sakura_ paranoid. It was bad enough that she'd seen that strange plant-looking man on their way down the mountain, but now Sakura starting to look everywhere _too_, sending off her sensing jutsu every few minutes and even occasionally looking around for anything resembling an enemy. She didn't like being this jumpy. Sai hadn't been like this before Iwa, so what had changed? And how could she possibly breach the subject without sounding...weird?

She would have brought it up with Gaara, but the kicker was that _he_ was acting distracted too. At first, Sakura thought it was due to him suddenly gaining a new furry companion. She liked the tanuki well enough, and she certainly wasn't going to deny the presence of a cute animal in their group. (Though she did occasionally question how on earth Gaara had gotten it to follow them.) But after a while she realized that _he_ was starting to act somewhat paranoid too. She could almost pinpoint the moment his demeanor shifted. One night, he was normal. The next night, he barely left her side. On top of that, he was always _looking_ at Sai, like he was expecting something to happen that simply hadn't yet.

Everyone was acting _weird_ and Sakura was getting _tired_ of it.

And since her companions wouldn't come out and tell her what was going on, Sakura found she only really had one way to vent.

"Boys." Sakura huffed to herself quietly as she ran her hands through the tanuki's soft fur. It was her turn to keep watch, and even with Gaara awake, she'd found the right volume to talk without him being able to hear. "I swear, they think girls like us are too fragile to handle a problem when it comes up, but they're incapable of keeping it from us either. You'd think they'd know by now it's better to talk it out. Isn't that right, Emi?"

The tanuki looked up at her with adorable brown eyes. Sakura was pretty sure it was a girl, but...well, maybe she just _wanted_ it to be a girl. Back at Konoha, at least she'd had Ino to talk to whenever the boys had gotten rowdy. Here...well, here she just had Emi.

(She'd picked out the name. Gaara had seemed to like it well enough.)

"The stupid thing is, they're probably just trying to 'protect me' from whatever drama they've cooked up behind my back." Sakura lamented, using both her hands to cup the tanuki's fluffy cheeks. "I swear, it's like when Naruto and Sasuke started fighting, you know? Like, _really_ fighting. They'd be all mopey around each other but they'd never talk about it or anything like that. And I think Kakashi tries to keep me out of it because he has some weird idea that I still need to be protected from the world."

Sakura sighed. And then she frowned, determination coming to her face.

"What do you think, Emi? Am I a kunoichi or not?"

Emi blinked at her, a sloppy little grin coming to her face.

"That's right." Sakura agreed.

It was time to investigate.

Sakura stood up, taking the tanuki into her arms as she began to walk away from the camp. It was time to check the perimeter, something she typically did on watch anyway. Knowing Gaara, who never slept, he would follow her on the perimeter check to make sure she was safe. This was key to her plan.

She walked until she was just barely out of hearing range of the camp. She could still see the light of the fire, and to be honest she was fairly certain that even with her gone, nobody would be able to get a jump on a Root agent and a Konoha jounin anyway. Her keeping watch was somewhat of a formality. She stopped at a large tree, looking as though she was examining it until Gaara came close enough. Then, she swiveled around, tanuki in one arm, accusatory hand pointing with the other.

"Alright, Gaara. Spill it. What the hell is going on?"

Gaara blinked, his eyes widening in surprise. "I...don't know what you mean." He answered. Stone-faced, of course. If anyone was good at hiding emotions, it was Gaara...for the most part. But Sakura had been traveling with the boy for a while, and she could see what others couldn't. The quick downward glance...he was feeling guilty. The subtle shift in his stance, a slightly defensive posture. To Sakura, he was like an open book.

"You think I haven't noticed everything?" Sakura retorted angrily. "Sai's walking around like a bunny about to sprint off if anything so much as looks at him funny. _You're_ acting paranoid as fuck, and that means a lot coming from Mr. Ultimate Defense. And Kakashi's got that look like he knows something and doesn't want to tell me. So _you're_ gonna tell me, right?" Sakura takes a deep breath, and then puts on her most sweetest begging face, one she practiced in front of the mirror for years for when she wanted to use it to ask Sasuke out on dates. "You're gonna tell me because you're my _best friend_, right?"

Gaara looked even more surprised at this, and there was something of a sheepish look on his face as he replied. "I'm your...best friend?"

"Duh." Sakura rolled her eyes. "I mean, you left your village to come along with me. You've been with me all this time. Do you honestly think you're _not_ best friend material at this point?"

"I mean...I don't really know how it works."

"There's not a way it _works_, you just...you're a best friend or you're not. It's easy. And you're distracting me from my question." Sakura pointed a finger again. "Gaara, I need to know what's going on."

Gaara remained quiet for a moment. This time, Sakura can tell, he's thinking, maybe thinking of the best way to approach whatever's going on.

"I...can't be the one to tell you." Gaara finally admitted. "I would like to tell you, but I promised I'd give one more chance before I did."

"One more chance?" Sakura thought on this for a moment. It's...very likely Gaara's referring to Sai, unless somehow Gaara found Kakashi doing something odd.

(For a brief moment Sakura wondered if Gaara and Sai managed to peek at one of Kakashi's books. She'd looked at one of the ones she found at a bookstore once...never again. Never again.)

Sai it probably is.

"So...on a scale of one to ten, how detrimental is this secret going to be to our mission?"

"Um." Gaara thought aloud, looking uncharacteristically worried. "I...well, it's not like I won't be able to protect you. So...maybe...a one."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "...on a scale of one to ten, how detrimental is this secret to the safety of other members of our party?"

"...it might be a ten."

Sakura groaned, rolling her eyes as she turned around to gently knock her head against the branch of the tree behind her. "You're telling me that you guys have been holding a _ten_ behind my back without bothering to tell me? And you thought I wouldn't find _out_. Son of a _bitch_."

"I'm sorry…" Sakura heard Gaara's timid voice from behind her. "But if he isn't the one to tell you then he isn't going to learn."

"It's _Sai_, you saw how much work it took to get a freaking _name_ out of him!"

"...am I still your best friend?"

Sakura turned around. Gaara looked distressed, and damn it all if she wasn't feeling sorry for him. She set down Emi so she could go put a hand on his shoulder. "Of _course_ you're still my best friend, I'm not _really_ mad at you. It's just...we really don't need this right now. We're in potentially hostile territory at the moment, we don't know how Taki is going to react to us coming, and the last thing we need is whatever drama Sai's dragged with him to interfere with us getting this treaty signed. If we come in bringing baggage, Taki might turn us away without a second thought."

"I dunno." A voice sounded from the tree above her. "Some of us kinda like the drama."

Sakura and Gaara both looked up. Sitting in on a branch, kicking her legs back and forth in a calm manner, was a girl about their age. She had a shock of blue hair, and wore a distinct Taki headband around her upper arm. She grinned, her orange eyes squinting somewhat as she looked down at them.

"Hiya."

Sakura sighed.

It was going to be that kind of night, wasn't it?

* * *

The girl's name was Fuu, and that was all that Sakura could get out of her. Which was strange, because the girl couldn't seem to stop talking.

"It's been a really long time since we had visitors at _all_." Fuu spoke, seemingly oblivious to the hostile stares that were coming at her from the others. "Not that I blame people. The last time a group of bandits passed through, they got really close to the village, so Kegon put water shuriken straight through their brains! It was super gross!" She made a gesture with her hands, and then made a sound like something getting squished. "Sploosh! All over the rocks. I think one of them survived though because every now and then we hear a merchant mention it when we watched them skim the border."

All three of her companions were looking at Fuu with slight disbelief. Here she was, waltzing into their camp in the dead of night, and now she was sitting at their fire and chatting like it was completely natural.

"So are you going to attack us or are you going to keep us up all night?" Sai questioned.

"Yes, I think we'd all like to know the situation." Kakashi added.

"Oh, me? I felt a strange chakra so I came to investigate, that's all. Like I said, we don't usually get visitors. And we _especially_ don't see shinobi. Actually, I don't think I've _ever_ seen other shinobi." Fuu admitted with a frown. "Just bandits and robbers and other ilk that think our forest is their stomping ground. Are you guys planning on invading? I thought I heard Pinkie mention a treaty!"

"Pinkie…" Sakura heard Sai mutter. She had the feeling she'd just gotten a new nickname.

"My name's Sakura." She insisted, hoping to nip things in the bud. "And yes, I'm here with a treaty. It's a part of the Shinobi Neutrality Project. I'm trying to draft up a potential alliance between the Hidden Villages, so we've come to Taki in peace to see if they would be interested in joining."

"Oh! Hmm. Probably not." Fuu admitted, putting a finger to her chin as she thought. "We don't really like strangers. And you guys have tried to invade in the past, so you'll probably try to do it again."

"Well, under the treaty-"

"Besides, you don't even know _why_ you want to ally with us!"

"Um." Sakura blinked, looking back and forth to each of her companions. "I mean, it's the same reason we want all of the villages, I would imagine. We're not prioritizing any village above any other. That's kind of the point."

"Wrong." Fuu held up a finger to Sakura, shaking it back and forth. "Wrong, wrong! You don't know it, but we're the most important village of them all. Do you want to know why?"

"...yes?"

"Then I'll tell you!" Fuu answered with a grin. "Takigakure is the most important village in the world, and that's becaaaause…" She leaned in, almost conspiratorial-like. "We keep the rest of the world safe from the demons."

Sakura stared at Fuu for a moment, processing what she said, before looking to Gaara, to Sai, to Kakashi. For that moment, they all looked equally confused.

Then, it hit Sakura all at once.

"Tall, weird plant-looking men?"

Fuu gasped. "You've _seen_ one? Where? That means one got across the border! Crap!" She stood up, looking around desperately for a moment before turning back to Sakura.

"Alright, Pinkie. You're coming with me. Shibuki needs to see you _immediately_."


	35. Chapter 35

_Fourth Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact_

_All official ambassadors to the pact will be unaligned with any specific village in the pact. All actions and agreements performed by ambassadors will be done with bias. If an ambassador is suspected to have acted with bias, they will be investigated by both village delegates and fellow ambassadors. Upon proof of biased action, the ambassador will be subject to punishment, potentially including dismissal from their position and revokement of any agreements known to have been influenced by said bias._

* * *

"How many of those demons has your village seen so far?"

"Hundreds, over the years. It's like there's no end to them. We're just lucky that they trickle in, in small groups. If a hundred tried to breach all at once, there's no way we could contain them."

Sakura listened closely while she ran next to Fuu, grateful for the familiar style of tree-jumping that she had gotten used to during her time in Konoha. Iwa's pine trees had been ill-suited for travel; their prickly leaves were painful to push through, and their branches too close together. Taki trees were far more similar to the monsters that dotted the Konoha landscapes, which meant it was easy for Sakura to keep pace and hear what Fuu had to say.

Demons...that was the only term Fuu had to describe the beings that regularly tried to breach through Taki's borders. Borders, Sakura had come to realize, that stretched a bit further than her past sources agreed upon. Even if it wasn't recognized by other villages, Taki shinobi patrolled not only Taki land, but the entire strip around the Mountain's Graveyard. It was there, Fuu claimed, that the demons were 'born'. It was there they regularly approached from. But every time Taki had sent in shinobi to try and 'clear the nest', to figure out how they were being born and how to stop them...none ever returned.

Supposedly these demons had been around since before the founding of the Hidden Villages. It was this knowledge, and the dismissal of this knowledge, that had led to Taki denying alliance with any other village in the past.

Taki was fighting a century's long war, Fuu had told her. A war that nobody else acknowledged, let alone tried to assist in. And Sakura couldn't help but be baffled by the fact that this information had existed for _so long_, and not a single village had ever once thought to look into it further. It was so strange as to be _suspicious_, and that just meant another mystery on the long list of mysteries that Sakura had to keep track of, damn it all.

But there was a connection, at the very least, a connection that unfortunately led to even more questions. The being that Sakura had seen up on the Iwa mountains _was_ technically a demon, but not one of the ones that Fuu was referring to. They referred to that demon as 'Zetsu', something similar in appearance to the other demons, but far more elusive and far less combative. This demon, Fuu claimed, was seen only rarely, and after all this time no one had been able to capture him, or even get close to landing a hit. All they had was a name...a name they weren't even sure how they managed to obtain. But what they did know with a fair amount of certainty was that, as of late, all sightings of the Zetsu demon had described him as wearing a black robe with red clouds…

Akatsuki was hunting 'demons', through their supposed pursuit of Jinchuuriki. Fitting, then, that they had recruited a demon to their team. Akatsuki supposedly had nine members, so that, along with previous information and the knowledge of the two Sakura had met in plains, meant that she had names for at least five of the nine.

The demons that Taki repelled were different than Zetsu in that they were actively antagonistic to anyone they encountered, and strong enough to _be_ a problem to anyone they encountered. To start, they were resilient. Jutsu that were lethal to humans could be shrugged off by a demon. On top of that, if they managed to get their hands on their attacker, they could _absorb their chakra_, and even start to take on aspects of the person they absorbed the chakra from. Taki had learned early on that they were capable of mimicking someone they were allowed to fully absorb. A powerful blank slate that could infiltrate anywhere if given the chance. That could already _be_ infiltrating anywhere, if there were some that Taki'd happened to miss. This was a problem. This had _been_ a problem.

And Sakura made a vow right then and there that it wouldn't _be_ a problem anymore. This was exactly the kind of problem that the Neutrality Project was made for. Konoha, Oto, and Taki all bordered the Mountain's Graveyard, if she could get all three to agree to the project, she could get them to all work in tandem to figure this problem out. Maybe if all three worked together, they could find the demon 'nest' and root it out.

Taki, of course, was already tackling this problem directly, and Sakura knew for a fact that Konoha would likely be more than willing to help out, especially if Kakashi was here to see the problem firsthand. Oto, however…

Sakura had already been dreading trying to convince Orochimaru to join a village alliance. She was already worried enough about Suna and Konoha even _considering_ allowing a village founded by the man into the pact. Orochimaru had killed both their Kage, declared war on Konoha, manipulated Suna...it wasn't something a village could easily move past. And it was a problem Sakura, at some point, would have to address. And now, with this _new_ problem stacking on top of it…

Sakura reached up, absentmindedly holding onto the amulet of Jashin around her neck. Maybe it was stupid, but she felt like she _needed_ divine influence to sort this shitshow out.

"Are you _sure_ Konoha has no record of anything like this?" Sakura looked back at Kakashi. "Not a single hint of any weird white-skinned person who's attacked in the past? Konoha borders the Graveyard, I find it a bit hard to believe we've never even _seen_ anything."

"It's because _we're_ just that good." Fuu answered before Kakashi could speak. "We've been keeping all you wimpy shinobi safe by manning the front lines."

"...no, there's nothing in any of our records about this." Kakashi retorted, his one eye narrowing in what Sakura had learned to be annoyance. "Quite frankly, if Sakura hadn't sensed that strange chakra a few days ago, I don't think I would have believed you."

"It seems very far-fetched." Sai commented. "Are you sure your whole village hasn't been attacking bears this entire time?"

Fuu didn't respond at first; she simply raised her middle finger at Sai while they ran. Sakura wondered if Sai even knew what the gesture meant. "Idiot. Just because you haven't seen it yet doesn't mean it isn't true. But if you _really_ doubt me, you can go run into the Graveyard and see for yourself."

"We are _not_ running into the Graveyard." Sakura groaned, rolling her eyes. "I am already on a tight schedule with this treaty, and we already have enough problems with Akatsuki looming over our heads. I don't want to risk death just to prove a point."

"But we are going to _need_ proof if the other villages are going to believe us." Sai argued. "An alliance is one thing. An alliance with the stipulation of added protection for a demon patrol is far harder to justify."

And Sai was...right. But how was Sakura going to get proof? She'd barely managed a glimpse of Zetsu, and she'd only managed that because-

Fuu came to a screeching halt, causing Sakura to nearly fall off a branch to stop with her. Behind her, she heard her three male companions skid to a stop as well.

"Fuu, what's going on?"

"Shh." Fuu put a finger to her lips. Then, to Sakura's surprise, she made a series of familiar hand signs.

That...that was the sequence for her _sensing jutsu_.

There were a couple extra signs at the end of the sequence, but up until that point the sequence had been identical. A more advanced version? Sakura briefly wondered if the scroll she'd filched had even belonged to Konoha at _all_. Maybe it had been a Taki scroll, pillaged in the early years of war.

But that thought didn't matter now. Mimicking Fuu, Sakura went through her own sequence of hand signs, sending out a sensing pulse.

One, two, three..._eight_ signatures, about two hundred feet away from their location. And each of those signatures had that strange, hollow energy to their chakra that she had sensed from Zetsu.

"You want your proof, Sai?" Sakura said in a low whisper. "I think timing's on our side, because we can get proof _right now_."

"Demons?" Gaara asked, moving closer to her side.

"Demons." Fuu answered with a nod. "But...I'll be dealing with them. You four are going to stay here and not move until I come back."

"What?" Sakura protested. "Fuu, we can _help_ you! Do you really want to face eight of those on your own?"

"It's not about that." Fuu replied. All at once, Sakura noticed that the girl looked nervous. "Just...if you're really serious about making an alliance, you'll stay here and not follow me, alright?"

"She doesn't want you to see her village's techniques." Sai piped up. "An alliance is a good cover story for having an easy infiltration into Taki. For all she knows, we're really just here to steal village secrets."

"...oh." Another valid point, Sakura considered. But still, was it really alright to let this girl handle eight enemies on her own? "If...if you're sure you can handle it, Fuu, we'll wait here."

To her surprise, Fuu gave her a smile. "I'm not like you guys. I'm the strongest kunoichi there ever was! So don't you go around doubting me, alright? I'll kick their asses and bring you back one of them so you can see the proof for yourself." She held her hand in a thumbs up gesture, then made to turn around.

Then, suddenly, Gaara stepped forward, gently taking Fuu by the hand to hold her back.

"That's not the reason, is it?" He asked softly.

"Hey, let go! This is serious!" Fuu pulled away with a frown. "And whatever you think you know-"

"It's okay." Gaara insisted. "I...I'm like you."

Fuu's eyes widened, and all at once Sakura understood. She'd known Taki had a Jinchuuriki...and now she knew that they'd been lucky enough that the very first shinobi they'd come across _was_ that Jinchuuriki. This _had_ been about keeping village secrets, but not just mere techniques. Sakura knew that Jinchuuriki had been kidnapped in the past so that other villages could gain control of their Bijuu. Bijuu were a source of village power. Now that they knew, now that the secret was out, that information could be _valuable_ in the wrong hands.

Sakura hoped beyond hope that the presence of a Jinchuuriki in their own group would be enough to convince Fuu that they weren't a danger.

"I...I didn't hear that." Sakura spoke up, grabbing Gaara by the back of his shirt and pulling him back several steps. "And you didn't say it. And _you two_ didn't hear it either." Sakura turned to point at Kakashi and Sai. "Especially you." Sakura emphasized, jabbing her finger again in Sai's direction. "And if I find you writing anything about this to Root later, I will give Fuu your head on a platter myself. We are here to invite Taki into an alliance, _not_ put their village in further jeopardy."

"Right, right." Kakashi held up his hands in defense. "Not a word."

Sai was quiet, which was...worrying. This was absolutely the sort of information Root would want to know, and Sakura wasn't quite sure she could prevent Sai from sending that information out. All that on top of what Gaara had mentioned to her earlier...Sakura didn't know what to do with Sai yet. But right now, the most important thing was taking care of demons.

Sakura turned around to face Gaara again before lightly rapping her fist against his forehead. "You need to be more careful!" She lectured. "I know you're excited to meet someone like you, but you have to think about the consequences of that information, okay?"

"...okay." Gaara nodded, looking uncharacteristically sheepish.

"Now, since we've all accidentally heard this information that we will definitely _not_ be discussing further, I will ask again. Fuu...would you like our help?"

Fuu's eyes were still wide, but after a moment her expression steeled and she gave the group a nod.

"Alright Pinkie, I'll let you help." All at once, her expression changed to that of a mischievous grin, and the girl reached out to poke Sakura's forehead. "But only because you're cute, you got that?"

Sakura turned beet red at the comment, sputtering slightly, but before she could retort, Fuu had already begun to move.

* * *

When Sakura first caught sight of the demons, she realized all at once that this was going to be her first _real_ fight since training under Onoki, and for a brief moment her nerves overtook her. The last real tussle she'd gotten herself into had ended with her getting stabbed twice, not to mention the brush with Akatsuki and the whole Plains civil war aspects.

But she wasn't that girl anymore. She wasn't just playing around with jutsu she'd scraped up and barely learned. She was Sakura Haruno, lead ambassador for the Shinobi Neutrality Project, and student of the Third Tsuchikage.

This fight wasn't going to be like any of the ones before.

The demons were exactly like Fuu had described: white-skinned, humanoid but somehow inhuman in how they moved, how they looked, how they snarled as they realized that they were being approached. Even that, for a second, was enough to make Sakura hesitate. But Fuu charged in regardless, no hesitation, and if a girl like Fuu could be so brave, so could she.

Fuu had already charged in first, and for good reason. With a couple of quick hand signs, Fuu breathed out a cloud of glittering dust, covering each of the demons. It appeared to blind them, causing each of them to come to a halt as they scratched at their eyes. A damn good distraction. Then, Sakura saw what she could only describe as chakra begin to form around Fuu's body, eventually coalescing into long strips on her back.

Wings?

Considering that Gaara had gone through radical transformations in the past with the energy of Shukaku, it wasn't _completely_ surprising to see this. In fact, Sakura had to admit, it was kind of cool. Fuu's chakra wings were allowing her to hover, which would give her a tactical advantage in the fight and…

And damn it all, now Sakura didn't want to be shown up.

"Gaara, you've got defense!" She called out, letting herself fall back into the routine of her past sparring drills. "Sai, get up in the air and don't let any of them get past us! Kakashi, um…" She hesitated, looking to her old mentor guiltily. "Well, I...I mean, I guess I shouldn't be ordering you and Sai around..."

"You and I have offense." Kakashi finished for her, smiling through his mask. "Let's go, Sakura."

Sakura felt relief, and then determination. Quickly, she flew through a series of hand signs before slamming both of her fists to the ground. She felt earth chakra flow over her hands, pulling dirt and rock with it until both of her fists were encased in a solid layer. As she did this, she saw Kakashi fly over her, already engaging with one of them. Behind her, Sai had drawn out a large bird, ink bringing the creature to life in a splash beneath him. And, as always, Gaara was there by her side, sand already flowing out from his 'scroll', ready to protect her.

She wasn't alone. She was stronger. She could _do_ this.

She pushed chakra to her feet and let herself leap forward, slamming her right fist into one of the demons' face. She felt the blow connect, and saw the face distort with the power of her blow, but even as the demon staggered, it didn't fall. Fuu hadn't been wrong. Sakura had broken rock with her punches before, and this thing was still _standing_. She would have to get a bit more creative.

The demon lashed out at her in response, and Sakura didn't even flinch. She knew she could count on Gaara, and sure enough she saw sand form a protective shell on her left side, blocking her from the demon's hand. At the same time, she saw a small ink bird fly into the demon's eyes, once again blinding it. Sai had already started with long range support, which gave them an opportunity.

"Gaara, hold it down!" She called out. One blow wasn't enough to kill it, but maybe…

Sakura waited, holding her breath for the brief second it took for Gaara's sand to snake up around the demon's legs. She pulled both of her arms straight back behind her, and once the demon was secured, she threw her arms forward in an arc. Simultaneously, her fists slammed against the sides of the demon's head, crushing it between them. She watched as the head caved with a sickening crunch...but there was no blood, no viscera, almost more like she'd just pounded on clay. However, after the blow had hit, the demon fell to the ground and moved no more.

One down. She'd need to hit them hard, but she'd already proven she could _do _it.

"Sakura, northeast!"

She heard Sai's voice call out, and as she glanced in the direction he mentioned, she saw one of the demons sprinting away. She let her rock gauntlets fall off for the moment, granting her the dexterity to use hand signs. Next to her, she saw Gaara slam his hands to the ground, creating a wall of solid sand that stopped the demon in its tracks. Another opening for her. Quickly, her hands flew, and as she put her own hand to the ground she focused on the demon's location, visualizing in her mind the density and thickness of the earth, how much chakra she would have to use, and picturing, not a pillar, but a _spike_. Earth shot up from the ground in front of the demon, and pierced its chest clean through. The demon twitched, and it moved no more.

Two down.

Sakura turned to scan the area. By the look of things, Kakashi had already taken down two of his own, and Fuu had wrapped up two more in what looked to be a web-like substance. (Not dead, but disabled.) That left two more to finish off. With another call out from Sai, Sakura saw one of them heading towards her from her right. It was time, she decided, to test out a new move that Onoki had taught her. She went through several more hand signs, this time letting her chakra flow through her body and into the ground. It was a connection, like Shukaku had told her, and with that connection she could shape the earth how she willed it. Quickly, smoothly, the earth at her feet formed sharp spikes, and with a push of her chakra she sent a dozen of them flying towards the demon in front of her. A few missed, but enough hit to stop the demon dead in its tracks.

Three down by her hand, and it wasn't long before Kakashi had neutralized the final one with a well placed Chidori. That had been…

Easy.

Sakura grinned, folding her arms as she surveilled the battlefield. Not a single one of her party had gotten hurt, the demons had been taken care of, and Fuu had two _live_ ones caught in her web.

"With you guys here, we can wrap these freaks up and take them back to Taki to study!" Fuu told them, punching the air with a small whoop. "I don't think we've had live ones in _years_. And you guys can take one of these bodies to show the other villages proof that they exist!"

Sai, at least, had a storage scroll big enough to do just that. And even if he was planning on sending it straight to Root, that still meant Konoha would have proof enough. And if Konoha could be convinced...so could other villages.

This could...this could work _out_.

Now all she had to do was convince Taki that she was here to help.

"Come on, Pinkie." Fuu slapped her heartily on the shoulder, the strength of it almost causing Sakura to buckle. "Shibuki will definitely want to meet with you now that you've helped me out. Help me carry these fucks back home, will ya?"

Sakura glanced back at the two surviving demons, unable to even struggle under the strength of Fuu's jutsu.

This...this had to be a good sign of things to come.

Didn't it?


	36. Chapter 36

_Fifth Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact_

_It is prohibited to harm an ambassador to the pact in any way. Any person under the pact found guilty of this will be subject to a trial of both village peers and ambassadors. Upon proof of assault, said person will be subject to suitable punishment as decided upon by the jury, depending upon the severity of the result._

* * *

Sakura, Gaara, Sai, and Kakashi were the first foreign shinobi since Hashirama Senju to step foot in Takigakure, according to Fuu.

No pressure, of course.

Hashirama had come to Taki in order to seek out an alliance during the founding of the villages. The leader of Taki then had turned down the offer, after a heated argument between the two. It was the first Sakura had ever heard of it. There was nothing in the Konoha records about Hashirama's meeting with Taki, only a footnote about how Taki preferred to remain solitary. The only reason Sakura knew about Taki at _all_ was due to the fact that they had a Jinchuuriki, and that the country's boundaries had to be put on continental maps. It was only now, as she reached the village outskirts, that Sakura realized just how little she knew about these reclusive people.

It was little wonder that invaders had typically experienced a hard time breaching the village. Just _finding_ it was something that Sakura wouldn't have been able to do easily on her own, given the time and agency to explore. Deep within the Taki forests was a waterfall cascading in rivets down a mountainous ridge. The mountain itself was nowhere near as tall as any of Iwa's, of course, but there were tunnels that ran deep beneath the mountain's surface, and that was where Taki had built. The only entrance into these tunnels was through the waterfall itself, and once through the waterfall, a plethora of traps awaited anyone who didn't know the exact right place to land or step. Sakura was sure to follow Fuu's every step, noting that there were dozens of tripwires and seals on nearly every rock in the entrance. Beyond that, a squadron of shinobi guarded the entrance, only letting them pass once Fuu gave them the correct set of hand signals. Even then, Fuu had explaining to do. She'd left alone and come back with a contingent of foreign shinobi, carrying two live demons with them. One of the Taki shinobi went off immediately to inform their leader, Shibuki, and the others immediately restrained Sakura and her crew. It was precaution, of course, and Fuu went out of her way to assure them that, assuming they behaved, the restraints would be gone soon enough.

It was with that that they were marched deep into the mountain, and Sakura laid eyes on Takigakure for the first time.

The caves were vaster than she could have imagined, lit with both massive torches and small beams of sunlight from holes in the mountainside. Even though it was technically underground, it was bright enough that it seemed like daylight. What was even stranger, however, was the presence of plants so deep into the mountain. Large moss beds decorated the ground like grass, mushrooms with a faint luminescence decorated the cave walls, and the most fascinating of all, so fascinating that it left Sakura almost dumbstruck, was the presence of a _massive_ tree.

And Sakura _knew_ massive trees, she had grown up in what she'd thought was the biggest damn forest in the continent, yet this tree still managed to impress her in terms of sheer girth and height, not counting, of course, that it was growing _underground_. Surrounding the tree was an underground lake that sparkling under torch and sunlight, with small rivers that spiraled across the town itself. Sakura saw watermills and gardens that seemed to float on the rivers themselves, and even saw free roaming deer herds grazing on the moss beds below. It was a whole city here, hidden beneath the mountain, and if she'd just been passing by she'd never have been able to _conceive_ what Taki had created down here. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Sakura wasn't sure she'd have been able to believe it.

The waterfall passage led to a set of stone stairs that wound their way down into the village proper. Sakura caught sight of civilians and shinobi alike staring her way, though it was more in awe and surprise rather than fear or anger. Children came rushing up to get a glance at her, only to be shooed away by her guards. Most of the shinobi there were as brown as Fuu, but with hair colors ranging from white to a light teal. In a way, the Taki people looked almost ethereal. It was little wonder that Sakura and her crew got stares; it was almost extreme how different they looked from the Taki residents.

After a long walk through the stone houses that made up the village, they reached the lakeside, and from there Sakura could see a winding path of stones that made their way to the base of the giant tree. It was to the tree she was taken, though along the way Sakura couldn't help but take note of several fluorescent insects that darted across the water's edge. Dragonflies, mostly, though there were other breeds that skimmed the lake surface until they were snatched up by the jaws of one of the many bats flying overhead.

Would any of her friends believe what she was seeing? Sakura briefly thought of how Naruto would react to a place like this, and the image of him enthusiastically jumping into the lake crossed her mind. She suppressed a giggle. Even Onoki probably would have gotten wide eyes at the sight. Taki was _beautiful_.

Integrated into the base of the tree was a building, though it might have been a stretch to call it that. The more accurate description was that the trunk of the tree had been carved into, creating a hollow within where, Sakura would learn, the leader of Taki resided. Shibuki awaited them inside, and Sakura was surprised to see that he looked _young_, maybe even younger than Kakashi was. His long hair draped down to his knees, and he wore a dark blue coat with a symbol that Sakura did not recognize embroidered upon it. For a brief moment, Sakura held her breath, unsure of how the Taki leader would react to her presence. However, the man was polite, even going so far as to give a short, but definitive bow as they approached.

"I've been informed that my shinobi has found cause to invite visitors to our village." Shibuki spoke, looking over Sakura and the others with what looked to be a wary eye. "I see with my own eyes that you have brought two demons along with you. You may not realize, but such a gesture goes a long way here in Waterfall. That is the sole reason I have allowed you to have audience with me."

Sakura let herself exhale. So they'd gotten lucky, meeting up with Fuu in the woods as they had, and luckier still that they'd found demons along the way. "We're exceedingly grateful for the opportunity to speak with you, sir. We've come here in peace, and to discuss ending some of the hostilities that have grown between the Hidden Villages. I hope you'll hear me out." Sakura gave a bow to Shibuki in turn, and was pleased when she saw her companions doing the same.

"Respectful." Shibuki commented with a nod. "I can appreciate that. As well as the sentiment of peace. But I notice that among you are two shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. In the past, Leaf has tried to sway us into alignment, and we have turned them away. What has convinced you that the answer will be different now?"

"Because…" Sakura glanced hesitantly over to Gaara. "Because...Gaara and myself, we are not affiliated with the Leaf. We are ambassadors to the Shinobi Neutrality Project. My other companions, Kakashi and Sai, have come along as a gesture of good faith, and to help demonstrate the legitimacy of the project. They are escorting us until we next pass through Leaf, after which they will no longer travel with me."

"I see." Shibuki looked to her companions before glancing to her again. "And you are?"

"...S-Sakura Haruno, sir." Sakura forced herself to bow again. "Head ambassador to the Neutrality Project."

"I see." Shibuki repeated. For a moment he was quiet, simply looking her in the eyes, and Sakura made sure to keep his gaze. She had nothing to hide, after all, her claims were legitimate. She was here for peace. She was here to _talk. _

Then, after what seemed almost painfully too long a time, Shibuki gave his shinobi a series of quick hand signals. The shinobi next to Sakura pulled out a knife and quickly cut her restraints, then pushed her in Shibuki's direction.

"Come." Shibuki gestured. "I would speak with you alone."

Sakura gulped, and follow Shibuki deeper into the hollow.

* * *

They went upward, following a carved portion of wood in a spiral around the interior of the tree. As they ascended, Sakura saw many scrolls hanging on the walls, each covered in artwork that tempted her to stop and look. Many of the scrolls depicted what Sakura could only describe as a massive beetle, sprouting six wings and long, thin tail. Sometimes the beetle looked to be in combat, often with other strange beasts of similar size. It was in one such depiction that Sakura recognized a large, nine-tailed fox. The Kyuubi. The beetle _had_ to be the Nanabi, then, the Bijuu that Taki was said to control. Six wings plus a tail added up to seven, she supposed, and she _had_ seen Fuu sport a lovely pair of chakra wings earlier.

As they got higher up, the nature of the artwork changed. Instead of beasts, Sakura saw scenery. Massive trees, one of which looked like the one they were currently walking in, but it was a different one that caught her eye. The tree had pink leaves, like a cherry blossom, and in every depiction it showed a long branch carrying a single fruit. Sometimes, beneath the strange tree, there was a woman with long, silver hair.

The woman was beautiful, but strange. She had a pair of two thin horns sprouting from her forehead, and her eyes seemed to be made up of spirals. Forgetting herself, Sakura stopped in front of them briefly, in awe of the woman.

"That is the Lady Kaguya." Shibuki explained, noticing Sakura's pause. "In her time, she was considered a Goddess, but more truthfully she could be considered the Progenitor of Chakra. The Mother of all Shinobi."

"I've never heard of her." Sakura admitted. "I thought the Sage of Six Paths was the god of shinobi."

"In a way, this is true." Shibuki agreed. "After all, Kaguya was his mother. The child of a god could be considered a god in turn."

"His mother…" Sakura whispered, awe in her voice as her eyes glanced over Kaguya once more. "She's beautiful."

"Indeed. But beauty can be deceiving."

Sakura looked back to Shibuki, who was gesturing for her to move on. Though Sakura wanted to stay longer, she couldn't refuse the leader of Taki. Reluctantly, she began her trek up the tree once again, but this time, Shibuki continued to speak.

"There are hundreds of stories of the Sage of Six Paths, but there are equally many stories of Kaguya here in Waterfall. None can agree on her origin, but what _is_ agreed upon is that Kaguya one day came upon a tree that had been alive since the planet could first sustain life. This tree, the great Chakra Tree, drew energy from the planet as nutrients, and every thousand years would produce a fruit that was said to bestow a terrible power upon those who devoured it. Kaguya ate of this fruit, and from it chakra was born inside her, chakra so massive that it would dwarf any shinobi of today. From her, two children were born, one of whom is your Sage of Six Paths. From these children were many more children born, and that is how chakra spread across the world, and how shinobi came to be.

"But there was darkness in Kaguya's heart. She grew mad. There are many stories as to why. Some say she grew mad over the loss of her lover. Some say she grew jealous over the power her sons had gained, and feared they would one day overtake her rule. Whatever the reason, whatever the cause, Kaguya moved to take over the world in full, as well as take back the chakra that her boys had received from her. In her madness she transformed into a hideous beast of ten tails. The Juubi. The One-Eyed God.

"Her children fought against her for a month as she rampaged across the continent. In the end, they could not kill her. Her power was too vast, and upon death the energy within her would simply reform into the beast once more. So, the brothers did the only thing they could. They split the chakra of their mother into nine parts, and divided her consciousness with them. Split apart so, the Lady Kaguya was no more…"

"...and the nine Tailed Beasts were birthed in her place." Sakura concluded, still just as wide-eyed as before as she considered the story. "That story seems…a little fantastical, I have to admit."

"That is what Hashirama told my great-grandfather." Shibuki admitted. "But of course, we have proof of the tale. For who better would know the truth of it than the Bijuu themselves?"

"You asked the Nanabi? And they _answered_?"

"Unlike other villages, our relationship with the Nanabi is one of mutual agreement. Chomei is our ally, and we are its in turn."

A mutual alliance...Sakura wondered what that was like. Fuu did seem confident in her abilities as a Jinchuuriki, and unlike others she had met, Fuu didn't seem ostracized at all. A village that respected Bijuu? It was...unique.

And she was almost _furious_ that it was.

"I think other villages could stand to have that sentiment in regards to their own Bijuu." Sakura noted.

"And now you see the beginnings of Taki's dissent." Though it was so fast she almost missed it, Sakura saw a smile on Shibuki's face.

The winding path finally led to a room in the upper part of the tree trunk. It was a small room, complete with a table, a few cabinets, and what looked to be a small kitchen. Shibuki gestured for her to sit at the table, and as she did the man went to the kitchen and began to work on making tea. It was cozy, and Sakura realized that she had probably just been invited into the man's house. The leader of Taki was oddly personable, but she wasn't going to complain. Was he this personable with all his shinobi, she wondered to herself. Surely a foreigner wouldn't be allotted special treatment here.

"Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage of the Leaf, forcibly restrained seven of the nine Bijuu that roamed the continent. Bijuu that, until that moment, had lived in peaceful isolation from the rest of the world. Hashirama used their power to end the warring era, and then gave them out as slaves to each of the budding Hidden Villages. Barring Suna, who had already enslaved one of their own." Shibuki spoke as began to mix tea leaves into a kettle of boiling water. "Hashirama, like many, believed the Bijuu to be simple animals who had accumulated chakra over time. He did not believe the tale of Kaguya or their origin, despite how relatively _easy_ it is to confirm. But of course, why would other shinobi go out of their way to speak with animals? They did not think it possible. They did not know. They abused that power to bring their people into power, and then had the gall to think that we of Waterfall would join them in such pursuits." Shibuki took a deep breath before bringing two cups to the table. "We of Waterfall will not align ourselves with slavers. I hope, before you discuss your proposal to me, that you understand this of us."

"I understand." Sakura agreed. "And...I know you might find it hard to believe, but...we might be working for the same thing."

"I told you before that you are here before me now because you aided my own." Shibuki replied. "Though you did not have to, you acted. That alone gives me hope that, perhaps, the rest of the world might be starting to grow up."

He poured her some tea, and then sat down across from her, still just as calm as before. It was enough to even put Sakura at ease.

"Tell me about yourself, Sakura Haruno. And tell me about your…'project'."

Sakura took a deep breath and began to speak.

She began with Akatsuki. Someone so vested in the well being of the Tailed Beasts was sure to be sympathetic to the cause that was preventing Akatsuki's success, and really, Akatsuki was where everything had begun. Sakura had left home to find out more, had recruited Gaara through this pursuit of knowledge, and around Shibuki she felt at ease enough to inform him that Gaara was a Jinchuuriki as well, and not only that, both of them had spoken with Shukaku.

"Shukaku is very upset with the world." Sakura explained. "And I suppose he has every right to be. Enslaved is the only way to put it, forced to give power to humans who treat him like a battery. It took a few conversations before he even remotely started treating us civilly, but...right now he's teaching Gaara taijutsu. Gaara says they talk every day, and I think Gaara could be a really good example of a proper relationship between a Bijuu and a human. I don't know if it's going to be possible to get the villages to give up their hold on their Bijuu all at once. The villages still view them as weapons, _necessary_ weapons to keep on hold to prevent other villages from invading. But that doesn't mean we can't start setting an example. We can start to show people that Bijuu _aren't_ weapons, they're living beings with thoughts and feelings and wants and needs, and that they can live in harmony with people as long as they're respected. Gaara can be such an example...but _Taki_ can be that example too, don't you think? You claim to live in harmony with Chomei. If the other villages see that too, well, they might start to think twice." Sakura reached into her pouch, pulling out her draft of the Neutrality Pact and pushing over to Shibuki's side of the table. "All villages are considered equal under the pact, with equal voice. You, combined with Gaara, can be a voice for the rights of Bijuu. We can change the way the world works, but we have to _start_."

"A naive sentiment. But not necessarily a bad one." Shibuki began to look over the draft, his eyes rapidly moving across the pages. "You will forgive me, though, for being wary. Hashirama once came preaching similar sentiment. Though you have my interest in regards to rights for the Bijuu, I have no guarantee that you nor I will be able to bend other villages to this way of thinking. Words are just words, not actions, and I cannot monitor every village at once to see how they treat their Bijuu."

"That is what ambassadors will be for." Sakura pointed out. "At some point I'll...I'll have to recruit more people to _be_ ambassadors, and we can set up a system that will allow ambassadors to cycle through the villages and see that pact standards are being met."

"And if they're not?" Shibuki questioned. "How will villages be punished?"

"Removal from the pact, which I admit doesn't sound like too huge a threat. But part of what the Tsuchikage and I tried to set up is that leaving the pact forfeits the right to trading with villages _in_ the pact. Trading that many villages rely upon for both a thriving economy. The pact is intended to usher in peace, but there are other factors involved. If you're not in the pact, if you're invaded, nobody in the pact will lift a finger to help you. That sort of thing. We wanted to make sure there were benefits to being a part of the pact, benefits that will outweigh any potential cons to signing in."

"A lot of thought has gone into this, I see."

"You could say that."

"Good. I wouldn't take you seriously otherwise." Shibuki slid the draft back to Sakura before returning to his tea. "Though I will not sign this so quickly."

"I wouldn't expect it, Lord Shibuki." Sakura replied. "It is a very big matter to consider."

"I will need to speak with you a lot more before I consider it in full. But more importantly, there is something that needs to happen immediately."

"Anything, just name it."

"I must speak with Shukaku myself. I would like to hear what _he_ has to think of this project."

"...ah."

Oh _shit_.


	37. Chapter 37

_Sixth Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact_

_Any person, civilian or shinobi, from any village, has the right to join the Neutrality Project as an ambassador, or as support to the ambassadors. Any person who invokes their right to join shall face no retaliation from their home village. However, a person with a criminal record shall not be allowed to join the Project without appropriate sponsorship from both a member of their village and a member of the Project._

* * *

"He wants to talk to _Shukaku_?"

Sakura couldn't fault Gaara for his look of disbelief. The cranky old Bijuu wasn't friendly on the best of days, downright murderous on the worst. It was nothing short of miracle that somehow Gaara had managed to get on the tanuki's good side, and even then Sakura was sure the boy was walking the fine line between begrudging respect and another all out battle of wills between the two. And despite that, despite all of Sakura's warnings to Shibuki…

"Yes, he _really_ wants to talk to Shukaku." Sakura insisted. "He's insisted that he doesn't want to trust our word on your relationship, or what our intentions are. He thinks Shukaku will be more honest with him."

"...is he sure _what_ kind of honesty he's looking for? Shukaku's always been a bit…" Gaara suddenly winced, a sign Sakura had come to note meant that Shukaku had yelled something crass in Gaara's mind. "...blunt."

"He's sure." Sakura replied, giving a small sigh as she plopped down into a chair. "He won't move forward with any sort of negotiation until he does. I hate to put this on you, Gaara, but-"

"Don't." Gaara shook his head. "I'm part of this too. All it means is that I'll be able to pull my weight."

"Who said you weren't pulling your weight?"

"I've protected you. But I've stood by and let you handle negotiations until now. If I want to help you with this, I need to learn how to speak with others. It's...a skill I lack."

"Not by your choice."

"But a skill I lack nonetheless."

"...maybe so." Sakura huffed. "There's another caveat though. Shibuki doesn't want you to serve as a mediator. He has no way of knowing that you're actually conveying Shukaku's words. Supposedly he has a way of communicating with Shukaku directly, with your cooperation, and _that's_ what worries me."

"Worries?" Sai spoke up suddenly, having been quiet until then. "Wouldn't it be a good opportunity to learn how Taki handles Bijuu?"

"That's not why we're _here_." Sakura argued. "And what if it involves releasing Shukaku in some way? _I _don't have a guarantee that Shukaku won't go on another rampage if he's given an opportunity."

"Aren't you supposed to be proving to Shibuki that you're _friends_ with your Bijuu?"

"Yes, Sai, and that is the goddamn _problem_ because I don't know if we really _are_." Sakura fumed. "So...Gaara, I know _you're_ okay with doing this. But what does Shukaku even think about this whole ordeal anyway?"

Gaara was quiet, listening. A minute passed, and then another. Then, Gaara gave a small shrug.

"He says it...would be fun to get to terrorize someone other than me."

"_Great_." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Just great."

Their relationship with Taki hinged on a centuries old being of chakra who, as far as she was aware, hated the guts of every member of humanity. It hinged on whatever tentative relationship Gaara had managed to form with the beast in the few months he'd been away from Suna. At the end of the day...it was out of her hands, it was out of Gaara's hands, and until it was done, all she could do was _wait_.

It was another hour of sitting about in the small hut that had been designated for them before a pair of Taki shinobi came for Gaara. Sakura gave the boy a long hug before letting him go, wishing him luck, then watched as he and the shinobi made their way back into the bulk of the city. Emi left as well, trotting along after her favorite member of the party, and then it was just her, Kakashi, and Sai, for however long it took for Shibuki to get what he needed to know.

What she needed was a distraction. Onoki had told her once that her mind liked to latch onto problems and fixate until the problem was taken care of. It was why she still thought of Sasuke and Naruto, why this neutrality project kept her up at night, why the mere _thought_ of Akatsuki could send her spiraling into a series of anxious worrying.

So what _was_ a problem that she could solve?

There _was_ one thing on her list, one thing that had been briefly mentioned before they'd been whisked away into Taki proper. The 'ten out of ten' secret Gaara had mentioned before, one that could threaten the safety of the party, one that most definitely involved…

Sai.

But how to approach that problem?

It was possible Kakashi knew...no, more like highly _probable_ that Kakashi knew exactly what the secret was, but getting information out of Kakashi was notoriously harder than pulling teeth. He was already enthralled in one of his books, likely more than entertained for the next few hours…

Plus, Sakura _really_ wanted Sai to be the one to tell her himself.

She'd learned a few interrogation techniques in her time at the shinobi academy, some meant to be more torturous, others meant to be more discrete. Kunoichi in particular were taught many techniques for swindling information out of men...and Sakura was certain that absolutely _none_ of them would work on the Root shinobi. She certainly couldn't _seduce_ information out of him. She wasn't even sure Sai had it in him to be attracted to someone, and if he did, he'd pushed it down into the void where the rest of his emotions had been buried. So really, all she had left were a few techniques for 'friendly banter', and then if those didn't work she was back at square one.

Well, no better time than now to start practicing her diplomatic techniques. As Gaara put it, speaking with others had become a fast requirement for her new position.

Sai was drawing, as he usually defaulted to whenever there was down time and he wasn't on watch. Sakura let herself sit down nearby, slowly scooting closer until Sai stopped and gave her a side-eye.

"Can I watch?" Sakura asked, trying her best to seem pleasant.

"Why would you want to?"

"You're a good artist." Sakura answered truthfully. "It's kind of neat to see how you can bring things to life with your brush. Well...figuratively _and_ literally. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever really asked about your technique."

"I would hope it is because you'd know that I have no intention of telling you anything about it."

"I don't mean tell me how it _works_." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Besides, even if you did tell me, I'm a horrible artist. Anything I draw would probably just trip and fall the instant I brought it to life."

"So why do you care about the technique then?"

"Maybe I'm just curious about _you_." Sakura let the conversation turn around. Make it about him. Give him reason to talk about himself. "Did you learn the technique from someone or did you make it? I don't really know anyone in the village who does anything like this, so I'm tempted to think it's the latter."

"...you would be correct." Sai turned back to his art, sketching as he spoke, and Sakura noticed his voice had...softened? Perhaps that was it. "When I was young, I was brought into Root. One of the first things we were taught was seal-work. Converting energy through written symbols in order to produce an effect."

"So wait, this is like a _seal_?" Sakura asked, skeptical. "But this is a drawing, not a symbol."

"What do you think a symbol _is_? It's a series of lines that convey an idea. A drawing is no different." Sai turned a page in his book, showing Sakura a blank page, before beginning to draw. First, he wrote, simply putting the word 'bird' on the page. "This symbol invokes the idea of a bird...but it's not complete. It could mean any bird, and that bird could have any purpose." Then, Sai drew, quickly sketching out the linework for what looked to be a small sparrow. "This symbol also invokes the idea of a bird, but the details are filled in quicker by your mind. You know what kind of bird. The size. The shape. Inherently, the potential speed and strength as well. Words are simple. That's why seals often require dozens of words in order to bring an intent to life."

"But your drawings only need the _drawing_!" Sakura let out a small gasp. "Sai that is _so_ smart!"

"...there's more to it than that, obviously. But you grasp the idea." Sai admitted, turning back to his original drawing.

"It's a cool idea." Sakura insisted. "Root must really put a lot of value in how you think. Sealwork like that is honestly revolutionary, Sai."

Sai was quiet, and then Sakura noticed it. Hesitation. A small grimace that was so brief, she could have missed it if she'd blinked.

"...yes." Sai answered, his voice still just as passive as always. "Root considers my skills quite valuable. Hence why I should not talk about it further."

"That's fine. I was just curious." Sakura's mind had begun to move, working through what she knew in her head. Root...the secret had to do with Root.

"...Sai, doesn't Root need you in Konoha, if you're so valuable? Not that I _want_ you to leave, but...if they need you, shouldn't you stop wasting time with me?"

Sakura noticed that Kakashi had stopped reading his book, his one eye glancing over in their direction. She was right, this _did_ have to do with Root. Was she treading carefully enough? Would Sai come clean?

"My mission is to investigate you."

"You've been investigating me several months. What more do they need to know? I'm trying to be as open as possible to everyone, if there's something you haven't figured out yet, you just have to ask and I'll tell you."

Sai was quiet at this, too damn quiet, and then suddenly something clicked within Sakura. The answer, the _reason_ the safety of their party might suddenly be in jeopardy.

"...Sai, how long has it been since Root asked you to come home?"

Sai's brush stopped, and his fingers twitched, gripping the handle with what almost looked like an anxious strength. When he spoke again, his voice was so quiet that Sakura almost missed it.

"A month ago."

A month. A month ago they'd still been in Iwa, she'd still been _training_, and Sai had chosen…

Sai had chosen to stay with _her_?

Sakura glanced over at Kakashi, who looked unusually solemn. Of course he'd known about it, but how long had he been keeping this secret? And _why_ keep it a secret? Was he _still_ trying not to worry her after all this damn time? Hadn't he _learned_, hadn't he _seen_ what keeping her out of it had led to? She wouldn't have _been_ here if others had involved her, if people hadn't kept their problems to themselves, she wouldn't have _done_ all this if people had just _talked_.

She took a deep breath. This wasn't about her. This...this was about Sai right now. Sai who had chosen to disobey the organization that had essentially raised him, doing what essentially amounted to 'going rogue', all…

All to stay with her.

Sakura put a hand on Sai's shoulder, noticing how harshly he flinched from the simple touch.

"It's fine." She insisted aloud. "We take things one step at a time, alright? But we do it together."

"No." Sai shook his head. "The simple truth is that Root will kill me for what I have done, and if you get involved, they will find a way to kill you too. It's better you forget about what I've told you."

"Are you kidding me? I can't just _forget_. And I _won't_ let them kill you. They _can't_, remember? Haven't you read the treaty?" Sakura suddenly grinned. "Any civilian or shinobi can choose to join the project without retaliation from their home village. And Konoha's signed it. If Root tries to harm you for leaving, they risk throwing the whole alliance into jeopardy. Lady Tsunade would never stand for that."

"They'll find a way." Sai repeated. "You underestimate Root."

"No." Sakura replied.

"Root underestimates _me_."

* * *

The Chamber of the Beast was dark and damp and covered in more symbols than Gaara had ever seen in his life.

It was here, Shibuki told him, that Taki had traditionally communicated with Choumei, the Seven-Tailed Bijuu that had lived in harmony with the village for generations. Choumei was different than the other Bijuu it in that it willing chose a human as its host, forming a sort of symbiosis to keep the village safe and bring an end to any demons that tried to cross their borders. Once it had chosen a human to reside in, however, it made communication to any beside the host incredibly difficult. A Bijuu could not risk leaving a host without killing them, once the host's body had become accustomed to the increase in chakra reserves. Thus, Taki had developed a way to share a mindspace with Bijuu and host, allowing communication between them. This chamber housed the method, and the seals on the walls brought the method to life.

"You need not worry about your seal being damaged by this technique." Shibuki assured Gaara as he led him to the center of the chamber. "I have no intention on causing unnecessary loss in life. You did not choose the life of a Jinchuuriki, and you will not suffer needlessly for it."

It was a bit of a relief. Gaara was willing to put his life on the line for Sakura...but for this treaty? He'd hesitate.

Shibuki instructed him to sit down in a particular spot before sitting down across from him. Three Taki shinobi took positions in the room, waiting for Shibuki's signal.

"We'll begin when you and Shukaku are ready."

But _were_ they ready?

**Oh, **_**I'm**_ **ready, brat. You can tell that bastard that I-**

"We're ready." Gaara spoke up, not quite wanting to hear what Shukaku wanted passed on. He'd be able to tell Shibuki himself, soon enough.

"Close your eyes and get comfortable. If you can, retreat into the mindspace that you and Shukaku share. I will meet you there."

Gaara closed his eyes and returned to the familiar landscape that was Shukaku's prison.

The tanuki looked eager, which had never been a good sign in the past.

"**It's been a long time since I've directly spoken with anyone other than you or that Kyuubi brat.**" Shukaku admitted with a short laugh. "**And that Shibuki looks like fresh meat if I've ever seen any.**"

"Please, Shukaku." Gaara pleaded. "The future of this shinobi alliance might hinge on how you speak with Lord Shibuki. If you _really_ want humanity to improve, this is the first step. What you say here will-"

"**Hush, brat. He's here.**"

Shibuki appeared in the mindscape quietly, like a wisp of smoke instantly taking form. He looked around curiously, taking in his surroundings before letting his eyes rest upon Shukaku. Gaara noticed a look of sympathy in the man's eyes.

"These chains…" Shibuki said aloud. "Lord Shukaku, it is simply deplorable how Sunagakure has treated you. On behalf of humanity, I would apologize for your treatment."

Then, Shibuki got to his knees and bowed low before the Bijuu. Briefly, this seemed to even shock Shukaku. Gaara was certain the tanuki wasn't used to _this_ sort of treatment, especially not from anyone in Sunagakure. But the shock passed, quickly, and soon Shukaku was giggling, then laughing heartily as though Shibuki had just told the funniest joke he'd ever heard in his life.

"_**You**_ **would like to apologize?**" Shukaku wheezed. "**Do you think your apology actually means anything to me? You intrude into my host's mind demanding to speak with me and me alone, and then you have the gall to act humble? Don't toy with me.**" Shukaku spat sand onto the ground, a look of disgust now on his face. "**If you were truly sorry, your people would have done more to advocate for my freedom. Instead, you sorry lot have wallowed in your cave, pretending to be martyrs when really you're too cowardly to do anything but preach.**"

Shibuki looked up, baffled at Shukaku's sudden outburst. "Lord Shukaku, our village has never had the manpower needed to confront the other villages. We would have been slaughtered if we'd attempted to free you from Suna."

"**Always fighting with you humans. Always war and killing and bloodshed. There's really no teaching the lot of you.**" Shukaku leaned down to meet Shibuki at eye level, giving the man something that Sakura might have called a 'shit-eating grin'. "**Tell me, little human...why is it that a child without even half your knowledge or experience has done more to bring your kind together than anyone who has ever lived in your village for the past hundred years?**"

"Well, you mean-"

"**Tell me, why is it when this child comes to you offering peace, offering a way for villages to communicate, offering you a way to spread your knowledge about my brethren **_**and**_ **those 'demons' that plague your borders, you didn't immediately jump at the opportunity?**"

"How can we trust them?" Shibuki almost gasped in outburst. "For years these shinobi have used your kind to squabble with each other. We've tried to tell them these things for _years_ and they have not listened. Why would they listen to us now? Why should now be any different?"

"**Why have **_**you**_ **stopped trying?**"

Shukaku huffed out a large gust of wind, blowing black sand around in spirals of air as he settled. "**This brat of mine here had given up on humanity, once**. **He took my vicious words to heart and declared war against his own kind. He only felt alive when killing. More monstrous than any beast, until a simple boy from the Leaf decided not to give up, not to stand by and let my brat hurt those he cared about. That boy fought until he was bloody and broken, until he couldn't even **_**stand**_**. I'd never seen such determination before. Everyone else in the world had determined this brat here to be a lost cause. There was no saving him. No curing him of his monstrous madness. But the Leaf boy **_**refused**_ **to give up. And wouldn't you know it, that damned boy got through and now this brat is an **_**insufferable**_ **little git, only thinking about redeeming himself, only thinking about helping **_**Sakura**_**.**" Shukaku made a retching sound as he spoke. "**It's enough to make me sick, seeing a human be so hopelessly kind. My stomach just isn't used to the concept. So tell me, **_**human**_**...do you think your kind are a lost cause? Is there no saving them from their own stupidity?**"

"...no, Lord Shukaku." Shibuki bowed his head. "Your wisdom holds weight, and I...I will take it to heart."

"**Then **_**get out of here and start trying**_**.**"

In less than a moment, Shibuki faded into smoke, and they were alone. Gaara let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Shukaku…"

"**Don't dwell on it, you little shit. I'm not doing this for you.**" Shukaku insisted, closing his eyes and rolling onto his back.

"Then who are you doing it for?"

"**...an old friend.**"

Gaara awoke back in the chamber with Emi sitting calmly in his lap. Shibuki was awake as well, deep in thought.

"Well, Gaara...I believe I have much to discuss with Sakura Haruno."

"Yes." Gaara agreed. "I believe you do."


	38. Sparks (Intermission Part Seven)

"What do you see?"

Shikamaru's voice was barely a whisper. They were slightly over half a kilometer away from the small orphanage, far beyond the hearing capacity of any shinobi even _with_ chakra enhancements, and, assuming Root hadn't managed to recruit a Hyuga, far beyond anyone's visual capacity as well. Hinata had claimed that she could stretch the limits of her Byakugan to about a kilometer's worth of vision, but he wasn't going to test that theory and put her under unnecessary strain. This was reconnaissance, and even he had no way of predicting what could go possibly go wrong here. He was treading unknown territory against an unknown enemy. He didn't expect it to come to a fight. But even he could only predict so far.

"N-nothing out of the ordinary, Shikamaru." Hinata answered, looking far more nervous than usual. Shikamaru didn't blame her. This request was strange, and he'd insisted upon secrecy. "The boy you mentioned is playing outside in the grass. There's a couple of other kids nearby. And...a woman is sitting at the porch, watching. I b-believe she is the owner."

"Dark hair in a bun? Green dress?"

"Yes, that's the one." Hinata nodded. "Shikamaru, do you...do you think she's hurting the children?"

"No." Shikamaru answered. "That's not what this is about."

"Oh."

Silence fell over the two, and Shikamaru waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The nice thing about Hinata was that she knew how to keep quiet and still. Kurenai had trained her team in tracking and recon, so he'd known that this sort of mission was one that Hinata would be used to. Quietly watching, waiting, gathering information, hoping for the right opportunity...this was _one_ of the reasons he'd asked Hinata to come along, but not the only one.

Eventually, Shikamaru was drawn from his thoughts. Hinata had seen something.

"There's...someone in the trees nearby. I can't make out their face. They're wearing something...I-I think it's an Anbu mask?"

"Damn it all."

It was the proof he'd been looking for, proof he'd desperately been hoping not to find. Even after everything Sakura had told him, even after a month of investigating, Shikamaru had _hoped_ that all of this would be unfounded nonsense. He didn't want to believe that something so heinous could be going on within the walls of his village, the village that he'd sworn to protect and keep safe, the village that he _loved_ (even if he would never admit something so troublesome out loud).

But here it was. A Root agent had come to this orphanage, no doubt scouting out a boy that Shikamaru had seen to have a fair bit of intelligence for someone his age. Was he chakra sensitive? That, Shikamaru did not know, but the presence of the agent made the option fairly likely.

Shikamaru had never seen anyone scouting out the boy before, but he'd needed to be within normal eye range to keep an eye on him. Obviously a Root agent would see him skulking around and wait until he'd left to do anything unseemly. Now that Shikamaru wasn't nearby, the agent would think the coast clear, the area safe.

Hopefully, the agent wouldn't suspect that Shikamaru had recruited living binoculars.

"He's moved…" Hinata relayed what she saw. "Down the tree...h-he's really fast but I think he's heading towards...oh!" She let out a small gasp. "S-Shikamaru, he just grabbed that boy!"

Shikamaru slapped a hand over Hinata's mouth. "Keep your voice down. We don't know if there's others around."

Hinata quietly nodded, continuing to watch despite the growing horror on her face. Eventually, as Shikamaru pulled his hand away, she spoke again in a whisper. "I don't know where he took the boy. H-he's out of my range. W-we should tell someone, Shikamaru, we need to-"

"There's no one we can tell. Not yet." Shikamaru put a finger to his lips before gesturing for Hinata to follow him. "Not here."

There was only one place that was safe. Only one place where Root would dare not go. If _anyone_ was found trespassing in his family's woods...it would mean certain death. Shikamaru hoped not even Danzo was foolhardy enough to send his minions there.

Under the shade of his favorite tree, Shikamaru finally allowed them to rest. Hinata was breathing heavy as she sat down, still processing the weight of what she'd seen.

"It's...t-this has been happening a while, hasn't it?"

"Longer than it ever should have been allowed." Shikamaru agreed. "What I'm going to tell you can never be talked about outside of this forest, understand? Not until this is done."

"Shikamaru…"

"I asked you to help me for several reasons, Hinata. One is because of your Byakugan. Two, your extensive training under Kurenai in information gathering. Three, because you're one of the Nine, and I know I can trust you with this. But most importantly, more important than any of those other reasons…" Shikamaru took a deep breath. "Because you're the heiress to the Hyuga clan, which means that _they_ can't possibly touch you without starting some sort of civil war."

"Shikamaru, who's _they_?"

"They're called Root."

And Shikamaru began to explain.

It had started with Sakura, of course, troublesome girl that she was, but the spark had started in his mind and had spread into a private investigation that had engulfed his waking hours. When he wasn't running missions with his team, he was looking into Root. Finding evidence, proof, even just small wisps of the organization that he could compile into something substantial. He'd investigated each of the village's small orphanages, finding, of course, no trace of children ever having been missing and never found again: Root was too good to leave that trace. But on accident, he stumbled upon a tidbit, a _reason_ to find no evidence, and that tidbit was perhaps something only someone like him would have caught wind of.

One day, a girl was at an orphanage. The next day, missing.

Upon disguising himself and questioning the matron, he was told lies. There had never been a girl like that before, he'd _had_ to have been mistaken. There was nothing else to it.

Root was getting the matrons to cover their tracks. Shikamaru was certain now that if he inquired after the boy that had been taken today, he'd find no trace of the boy's existence. Root recruited orphans, urchins that wouldn't be missed. Urchins that could be trained into perfect soldiers.

And now _Hinata_ had seen it as well.

"I don't know if they're bold enough to go after clan children." Shikamaru admitted. "But I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Still, clan heirs like you and I would obviously be far off their radar, since they don't want to fall _under_ everyone else's, which means that we're the safest people to investigate. Anything happens to us, there's going to be a full scale investigation, and Root can't afford that."

"Y-you're really sure that Root exists? It's not someone just...just pretending to throw you off their tracks?"

"I have proof of Root's existence. Sakura Haruno is currently traveling with an agent of theirs, among other things. They're real, Hinata, and they've _been_ real. They recruit children and brainwash them into perfect soldiers. Not just Konoha children either. According to Sakura, they've stolen children from other villages too."

Hinata let out another gasp at this, covering her mouth as she did so. "Shikamaru, why does Lady Tsunade allow this?"

"I doubt she has the ability to confront them directly. As far as I'm aware, Root was probably legitimately formed by one of the previous Kage. I'd wager the Second or the Third. Tsunade may not even know half of what Root gets up to, only that they're willing to do the dirty work that she can't afford to let anyone else do. I also have a theory that whoever is leading Root is someone _very_ high up. Someone that would be very difficult to move against even with a solid case." Shikamaru leaned back against the trunk of his tree, staring up at the leaves above as he talked. It was nice, he realized, to finally be able to get his thoughts off his chest. Nice to finally be able to talk to someone, _anyone_, about what he had found.

"Konoha is...broken."

Shikamaru blinked, not expecting those words from Hinata. She looked sheepish, but continued nonetheless.

"I-It's like my own clan. There's such a harsh divide between Branch and Main...a-and it's all because of tradition. Nobody ever tries to change how things are, and if they do, they're...t-taken care of. Konoha is the same way. Nobody tries to change things. A-and now I know why. If Root does what you say, then they can just...they can just take care of whoever speaks against them or moves against them. I don't even know what w-we can do, Shikamaru."

"Me neither." Shikamaru admitted. "It's such a _drag_, knowing about all this. I certainly can't challenge Root on my own, and you can't challenge your whole family."

"...N-Naruto would."

Shikamaru remained quiet. He'd known for a good while now that Hinata was sweet on the blonde terror; it was obvious to anyone with more than one brain cell. It was predictable, albeit in a kind of sweet way, that Hinata would think of him when confronted with a problem.

"Naruto wouldn't think about how hard it would be. He would just...h-he would just _do_ it."

"Yeah." Shikamaru agreed. "He probably would."

"A-and you're trying too, aren't you? If you thought it was hopeless, you wouldn't be talking to me about it right now."

...girls really were troublesome. Especially when they were _right_.

"...I'm thinking of forming a team. Only with people we can trust. People who are low risk when it comes to retaliation from Root. Clan heirs, well known shinobi with good reputation, and...the closer to our age the better. If they're too much older, they might be more loyal to the system than to any concept of justice."

"The N-Nine?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Well, one of the Nine is out at Orochimaru's, but everyone else, yeah. Sakura is already trying to find out what she can, even though she's not really doing the Konoha thing anymore. My teammates are probably safe, and I know I can trust them. I don't even think Root would try Naruto at this point. Apprentice to the Hokage and all that." And host to the _Kyuubi_, though Shikamaru wasn't certain Hinata knew (or was ready to know) that particular bit of information. "Can you trust your team, Hinata?"

"Yes." Hinata said, more certain than he'd ever heard her. "Kiba and Shino...they'd be appalled if they knew about this. I k-know they would help us."

"Good. So that's eight people we can trust. This is…" Shikamaru sighed. "Well, consider this our first S-ranked mission, assigned by me. The exposure of Root. And...the comprehensive upheaval of Konoha so we can make room for a better system."

"Shikamaru…" Hinata smiled. "I think...this isn't very like you to be so...so _enthusiastic_."

"It's a drag." Shikamaru complained. "But...I don't think I can just let it happen."

"I-I agree." Hinata nodded again, determined. "I'll talk with Kiba and Shino…"

"Only here." Shikamaru insisted. "And I'll have to be around or else my clan will put a knife through your head. We'll get everyone together here and explain it all at once."

"R-right. How about...we meet this time tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow then."

Tomorrow...Shikamaru wouldn't be able to back out after this.

His father always complained that he was far too apathetic when it came to the village. Funny now how things were turning out.

All he could do was hope that Root severely estimated what they'd be capable of achieving. And that, no matter what, he could stay several steps ahead.

_Like a game of shogi…only right now, we can't see the other player's pieces._

Shikamaru smiled.

He'd always enjoyed a challenging game.

* * *

"Ugh, you're simply _hopeless_!"

Ino's voice was an annoyed screech, echoing against Naruto's mindscape. If not for the fact that he'd been listening to her argue with the Kyuubi for days now, the sheer shrillness of her voice might have snapped him out of the effects of her jutsu. But he was used to it now, this _boring_ back and forth that Ino and the Kyuubi had established. She tried to play nice, Kyuubi threatened to eat her, she tried to play bad cop, Kyuubi threatened to eat her, she got fed _up_...and that was the day.

Naruto was so, _so…_

"**Bored."**

The Kyuubi yawned, his giant teeth flashing as he did so. "**I'm getting bored, little girl. Why don't you come into my mouth and end this once and for all?"**

"Is _all_ you can think about eating people?"

"**Yup."** Kyuubi grinned. "**You're all very tasty."**

"_Ugh_!"

Ino sat down next to Naruto in a huff. He could tell that she was exhausted; this technique took a lot of chakra to maintain, and they hadn't gotten anywhere with the Kyuubi at all. No signs of bettering the relationship, no new information...nothing. Gaara had managed to get somewhere with Shukaku. Why couldn't _they_ make friends with this stupid fox?

"Hey Fox."

"**What now, brat?"**

"What's the tastiest part of a human?"

Ino smacked Naruto's arm, making a disgusted noise. "_Naruto_, why would you even ask that?"

"I mean, I like talking about the tastiest parts of ramen." Naruto admitted. "I love that last bit of soup you get at the end that's been soaking in all the flavors of the meat and the vegetables. It's so savory and _juicy_, like one last little punch of yum!" He gave a toothy grin. "So, Fox, what tastes best to you?"

The Kyuubi let out a hot breath, closing his eyes. For a moment, Naruto wasn't sure he was going to answer. But then, out of nowhere, the fox replied.

"**I prefer eggs."**

"Eggs? Humans don't have those."

"**I wasn't talking about humans, boy. A good, fat pheasant egg. When it crunches between my teeth, it pulls out all the leftover human bits that got stuck inside."**

Ino made a dramatic retching noise, but for once, Naruto was enthralled. Food...now _food_, he could talk about.

"But aren't eggs going to be like, really really small, compared to you? Or is there a big summon animal with _huuuuuge_ eggs that I don't know about?"

"**I've eaten eggs twice your size. Big enough to fill my whole mouth."**

"Whooooa!" Naruto cried out, standing up so he could measure just how big an egg Kyuubi was referring to. "What even hatches from an egg that big! Is it like a summon animal? Big Boss Gamabunta is as big as you, so maybe there's birds that big. But what do _they_ eat?" Naruto frowned as he considered this. He'd never even thought about where a giant toad might live, what they might eat, and that was just _toads_. Orochimaru had snakes! Tsunade had slugs! And he'd seen tons of other summon animals...where did _they_ all live? This was a mystery he just had to solve!

And then, what surprised Naruto most of all...the Kyuubi laughed.

The fox had a deep, guttural laugh that seemed to make the whole room shake. But instead of the menacing chuckle Naruto had grown used to, this one seemed almost jovial. Almost like...the Kyuubi was actually _amused_.

"**You've been summoning those toads for a year now and you never even thought to ask where they came from? You really are an idiot, brat."**

"Well if you're so smart, why don't _you_ tell me where they're from?"

"**Mountains. Forests. Oceans. Far away from where anyone can reach them. Even my own kin have a retreat away from you nosy humans. Haven't you ever wondered what lies across the sea, on the other side of the world?"**

"You mean you know what's on the other side?" This time Ino spoke up, now more awestruck than annoyed. "People have been sending ships to try and find out for _years_, but nobody's ever-"

"**Idiots and fools. What is the point of inventing space-time jutsu if you don't use it?"**

"Yeah, why _don't_ we use it?" Naruto agreed. "Everybody should learn super cool teleportation jutsu, then we could just go _everywhere_!"

"It's probably not that easy!" Ino protested. "If everyone could do it, we already _would_ be doing it. It probably takes a stupid amount of chakra, and we don't know how big the ocean is, so how would we know how _far_ to teleport?"

"Uh...maybe we just have to keep guessing til we get it right?"

"Then we'll _drown_ in the process!" Ino huffed, crossing her arms. Nearby, the Kyuubi also huffed in disappointment.

"Idiot."

"**Idiot."**

Ino and the Kyuubi looked at each other as they spoke, simultaneously. For a moment, silence.

Then, just as Ino's jutsu broke, Naruto saw a small smile on the Kyuubi's face.

They awoke in the training field with a gasp, as was usual. Naruto, nursing a raging headache, Ino, exhausted from chakra drain. But this time, they were both grinning to themselves.

"I think he likes me."

"I think he likes _us_."

Naruto held out his hand for a fistbump, and Ino obliged. They were _doing_ it. Gaara had been _right_.

Slowly...slowly but _surely_...they were befriending the Nine-Tailed Fox.

* * *

"Again."

Sasuke focused. His target was a single leaf at the top of a tree that spiraled over a hundred feet into the air...and _only_ that leaf. He had learned to channel lightning chakra into Chidori from Kakashi, and through Orochimaru had learned to channel that chakra out from his hand into a ranged arc. But getting the control necessary to hit a small target from such a far distance? Well…

He'd never been top of the class when it came to chakra control.

Sasuke thought briefly of Sakura, long ago in the Land of Waves, climbing to the top of a similarly high tree with ease while he and Naruto struggled to make it a few feet. Would she have been able to master such a technique? A part of his mind doubted it, little Sakura, always scared, always hiding behind him…

Not the same Sakura, his mind reminded him, that had left home and gone to fucking _Iwagakure_ of all places. Not the same Sakura at all. Kabuto enjoyed flaunting his knowledge of her to him, reminding him that his old teammate was raising hell in other parts of the world. Something about making a _peace_ treaty. Something about _uniting_ everyone.

Sakura had always been hopelessly naive.

Would she come to Oto? Sasuke couldn't help but wonder. She was supposedly going to several villages, maybe even _every_ village, so Oto would have to be on the list, wouldn't it? He wasn't sure what he'd do if he saw her again. Wasn't sure how he'd feel. It had been easy back then, leaving her behind. His mind had only been focused on one thought, one goal. Power. Power to get revenge. Power to kill _Itachi_. It had been simple, easy, and now…

And now…

Orochimaru made sure to involve him in _every_ facet of the village. It was rare Orochimaru let him leave his _sight_. He'd seen the monotony of shinobi life, running a village, maintaining order, seeing what Orochimaru was willing to _do_ to keep a tentative peace. Sure, one day he would be strong enough to take Itachi down, but…

What came _after_?

He wanted to rebuild his clan. Karin would be more than willing to help him with that, he was sure, but Sasuke wasn't altogether certain that Otogakure was where he was supposed to _be_. Could he stay at a placed so steeped in the stench of Orochimaru, created by him, influenced by him? But, in contrast, could he possibly return home to _Konoha_?

"_I think I understand now why you had to leave the village…"_

Sasuke's mind wandered to a letter, a solitary letter delivered by Karin that had carried Sakura's signature on it. A letter that not even _Kabuto_ had known about, and that thought alone made him smile.

Sakura had forsaken Konoha _too_. What had that meant, if someone like her had left? And what did that mean for him?

"Again."

Sasuke focused his chakra, pushing it, pressing it into a thin line as it shot forward into the depths of the tree.

He thought of Konoha, thought of Team Seven, thought of his _brother_.

What was he becoming? What _would_ he become?

He was an avenger...but when all was avenged…

Then what?

His lightning pierced the leaf, a perfect tiny circle left behind from the pinpoint accuracy of his lightning. Nearby, Orochimaru smiled. The smiling unnerved him at times, but at times, like now...the smile seemed almost legitimate.

"As expected, Sasuke."

Sasuke took a deep breath, allowing himself a brief rest.

When his thoughts lingered on his old home, did it make him weak?

As his eyes glanced up to the leaf, now fluttering down from the impact of his strike, he wondered if that was really true.

Maybe, just maybe…

"Again."

Sasuke focused, and barred all thoughts of Sakura Haruno from his mind.


	39. Chapter 39

_Seventh Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact_

_The leader of each village under the pact shall meet once a year to discuss the pact. Changes to the pact may be put forth here by any leader or ambassador to the pact. If the pact is accepted by a majority vote by the village leaders, this change may be written to the pact as an Amendment. Conversely, an amendment may be removed from the pact by similar vote. An ambassador is not allowed to vote on pact amendments._

* * *

Sakura had remembered reading, back in her time at Konoha, that it was considered standard for someone of jounin rank to have mastery over two elements. So at first, when Kakashi told her that he wanted to start teaching her water jutsu, she'd been immensely flattered. Sakura hadn't even thought herself _chuunin_ level yet, let alone jounin, and yet Kakashi had thought her capable of learning a second element nonetheless. She'd gained a mastery over earth jutsu under Onoki, and now she'd add the versatile water element to her arsenal too!

Then, as the two of them made their way to the Taki lakeside and Kakashi began to tutor her, she realized the exact reason why there weren't very many jounin-level shinobi in the world.

Mastering other elements was _hard_.

And Kakashi was the sort of tutor that liked to throw his students head on into a difficult task without any buildup. Onoki had taken her to the top step by step. Kakashi was trying to _throw_ her to the top and hope she happened to grab on while she was flailing in the air.

Sakura had _no idea_ how Sasuke had learned the Chidori. But, if anything, that was even more motivation for her to learn this stupid Water Bullet jutsu. If she was going to stand on the same ground as Sasuke and Naruto, be just as strong, know moves just as cool, then _she_ could learn a stupid jutsu this way even if it killed her.

"Try it again. Concentrate. You have the best chakra control of your generation, which means you're more than capable of figuring this out."

Sakura suppressed the urge to throw another quip Kakashi's way. Earth jutsu had come easy. Earth was her _type_. Converting her chakra to water nature was something like looking two ways at once _while_ trying to shoot a bow and arrow at a target.

Her hands moved through the signs, and Sakura took a deep breath. Water, she told herself, her energy was _water_. She could feel pressure building in her chest, felt her cheeks swell with energy…

"Oh, it looks like Gaara's back."

Startled, Sakura opened her mouth, and all of the water she'd been building up gushed from her lips like a burst damn all over her front, soaking herself to the bone.

Gaara looked reasonably confused. Kakashi had let out a sound that was suspiciously like a snort.

And after a moment, for the first time since they'd met, Sakura heard Sai laugh.

It started out quiet at first, so quiet she'd almost missed it. But as she turned to see what this strange new noise was, Sakura saw Sai's shoulders shaking, his hand over his mouth...and then it seemed as though he couldn't hold it in anymore, and all the laughter came out at once. It was surprisingly light, and Sakura noticed small little tears forming in the corners of his eyes as he tried in vain to hold back his mirth. And it was so damn heartwarming just to see him _capable_ of laughter that Sakura couldn't help but laugh along too. From there, it wasn't long before Kakashi and Gaara had joined in.

"Are all foreigners so weird?" She heard a Taki shinobi ask nearby.

"I think that's why we're not supposed to let them in." Another replied.

Eventually the laughter settled, and Sakura managed to keep it together enough to ask one of their bodyguards for a towel. While she waited, she sat down next to Sai and gave him a gentle pat on the back.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

Sai wiped his eyes, and there was a hint of a flush in his pale cheeks.

"...you're really bad at that. You should stick with fisticuffs."

"Maybe I should." Sakura agreed, huffing in frustration. "Kakashi-sensei, are you sure you have the hand signs right?"

"Don't you trust your wonderful teacher, Sakura?"

"I trust that you've made me get absolutely soaked trying this."

Gaara eventually sat down with them, and they couldn't avoid the elephant in the room any longer.

"So? How badly did Shukaku piss Shibuki off?"

"He didn't really." Gaara explained. "He was...very blunt, but I think he made good points. He's...better at speaking to people than I am."

"I think he's got at least a thousand years practice on you."

"Shibuki told me he needs to spend time speaking with his council. For now, we are guests."

"So...we're not getting kicked out, at the very least." Sakura grinned. "I'd say that's a success by you and Shukaku, don't you think?"

"Yeah." Gaara smiled back in turn. "So...water jutsu?"

"Water jutsu." Sakura's grin turned into a frown. "Ugh. I'm taking a break. If I spit out another lackluster water loogie I'll probably just cry."

"Your crying would probably be a more effective use of water, at this point."

"Sai, you learned how to laugh today, and I am _not_ afraid to teach you how to cry too."

"So you're taking a break?"

Sakura looked around, not sure where the new voice had come from, until Fuu dropped down from above. She gave them a wave.

"Hiya, Pinkie. Wanna come take a break with me?"

"Um, sure?" Sakura wasn't sure if being social was what she _wanted_ to do while soaked with water from her own jutsu, but she couldn't exactly say no either. It was an opportunity to bond with a Taki shinobi, a Jinchuuriki at that, which would be nothing but beneficial to her cause and her goals. She stood up, wringing out the bottom of her shirt as she did. Gaara stood as well, but as he did, Fuu suddenly moved forward and grabbed Sakura by the arm.

"No no no! Girls only break, no boys allowed!"

"But...I'm supposed to…" Gaara didn't seem to know how to deal with that statement, but before he could say more, Fuu began dragging Sakura away with an unnatural strength.

"You could use some girl time, couldn't you Sakura? Come on, come _on_!"

Sakura gave Gaara a sheepish wave as she was dragged away, mouthing that she'd be fine. She was quickly learning that Fuu had a bit of an overbearing nature at times, but…

Well, it _had_ been awhile since she'd spoken with a girl her age. She'd had Kurotsuchi at Iwa, but she'd been so much more mature, more of a teacher than a friend. Fuu, however, had friendliness vibes to the maximum, and there were a few things about the girl that reminded her of Ino, back when she'd followed the Yamanaka around like a shadow. It was a strange, nostalgic comfort.

"Shibuki and the council will probably talk for _hours_ before they even start trying to think about deciding anything with you." Fuu explained. "And I know _I _get bored when I have to wait, so I thought it would be fun if you came and helped me out with a mission. What do you think? Just the two of us!"

"A mission?" Sakura asked, baffled. "You mean Taki would trust me to help them with a mission?"

"No, probably not." Fuu replied. "But they trust me, and they trust me to watch _you_ because I'm the strongest kunoichi in the whole village. Plus, the mission's just a simple border patrol, and you've already shown you can handle a demon if they show up. Soooooo, that means an easy afternoon, potential for a fun scrap, and we get to hang out!"

Fuu's grin was infectious, and even though she was wet and tired, Sakura couldn't help but smile too.

* * *

Fuu led her through the winding cave tunnels, and Sakura realized she was a bit relieved to see the sun and the sky above her head again. Taki was beautiful, but living in a cave was stifling, and Sakura wasn't sure how the Taki shinobi could handle it. She briefly closed her eyes and let the outside breeze brush against her face, enjoying the moment before Fuu tugged on her hand and the two of them were running through the woods at breakneck speed.

Fuu took a playful approach to the running, tagging Sakura on the arm and racing ahead to start a chase. Sakura wasn't used to messing around on missions, but...well, it technically wasn't _her_ mission, and she didn't need to hold her reputation as the mature shinobi in her team when it was just her and one other. And if anyone _did_ see her...well, she was simply practicing channeling chakra to her legs for extra speed. Faster and faster they went, and Sakura tagged Fuu once, twice, thrice, until she was chasing her a fourth time and Fuu then came to a sudden stop.

Sakura, in her second ungraceful moment of the day, went careening past her, and then realized all at once why Fuu had come to a halt.

She was sailing over a _cliff_.

Time seemed to slow down, and Sakura saw a valley stretched out beyond her for as far as her eyes could see. Leagues upon leagues of forest, dwarfed in her sight by giant skeletons that were bigger than any building she'd ever seen in her life, almost as big as _mountains_.

_The Mountains' Graveyard, _she realized. She'd always thought of a graveyard to be like the memorials she'd seen in Konoha and Iwa. Never would she have pictured bones so large they couldn't be _buried_.

Gravity began to kick in, and Sakura realized that she was hundreds of feet above ground unless she found a way to get back to the cliffside and _fast_.

She had rope, and she had kunai, but the rope was stored in a scroll for use in climbing cliffs in a _non_ combat situation. Still, she didn't have any better options. Sakura frantically grabbed at the storage scroll at her hip and yanked it open, pulling forth the rope as she felt herself begin to fall. She clenched the scroll between her teeth as she tied the rope to a kunai, and then she just had to _throw_ and hope it _stuck_.

But she had little to worry about in that front. Her muscles had grown under Onoki's tutelage, and so had her throwing accuracy. Her kunai sailed through the air and buried itself in the cliffside, and from there Sakura held on as she…

Was pulled straight towards the face of the cliff.

It was better than hitting the ground, she figured, but hitting a rock wall at such a speed wasn't pleasant, and it was a miracle she managed to keep hold of her rope with the force of her impact. She bounced against the rock several times before coming to a halt, and with that...she'd _made_ it.

"_Nice,_ Pinkie! I thought I'd have to rescue you!"

Sakura grunted. A rescue might have been preferable but...well, it might have hurt her ego a little bit.

Wallwalking, at least, was easy, and it wasn't long before she was safely at the top of the cliff again. Sakura let out a sigh of relief as she dangled her legs over the edge.

"A warning would be cool, in the future."

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have gotten to see you be all cool with the kunai and the rope." Fuu retorted. "Besides, the view's much better from where you were. I like to come fly out here and see if I can figure out what kind of creatures those used to be."

"They're _huge_." Sakura said breathlessly. "I wish I knew more animal anatomy. I'm sure there's shinobi in every village that would kill to come get a look at these. Do you think they used to be summon animals?"

"Maybe?" Fuu shrugged. "They're certainly big enough, but none of our summons know anything about them. Even Choumei says that they don't know, so it must have been something _really_ old."

"Wow."

They looked out over the valley for a while in silence. Fuu kicked her legs contently and Sakura's eyes darted back and forth, seeing something new every time she scanned over the land. More bones, unique trees, birds she hadn't seen before…

Traveling around was so _cool_.

"I never would have seen this if I'd stayed in my village."

"Well, yeah." Fuu answered, confused. "Obviously."

"No, I mean...I don't think I would have really traveled much at all other than within Fire Country. The furthest I'd ever gone as Konoha shinobi was to the Land of Waves, and even that...well, it doesn't seem far at all _now_." Sakura hummed, resting her face in her hands and her elbows on her knees as she sat. "But now I feel like I've gone into a whole other _world_. This seems like something out of a storybook."

"Never thought of it that way, but I guess I grew up seeing it." Fuu admitted. "A storybook, huh? Konoha always seemed like a storybook to me. You hear about all these clans with all these cool unique jutsus, now _that_ seems like a fairy tale. Reading minds? Controlling the shadows?"

"Really, _that_ seems weird?" Sakura laughed, thinking of her old comrades. "I knew people who could do those things. It never seemed weird to me at all."

"It's so weird! Nobody else can do the shadow control thing, not anywhere! And they're not even the most famous. You guys have the _Uchiha_."

Sakura's stomach soured all at once. The mention of the name...she thought of Sasuke. If her maps were correct, across this valley was Otogakure. She was close to Sasuke, so much closer than she'd ever been, even back when they'd been on the same team. A part of her wanted to sail from the cliff again to seek him out...a part of her that had been growing steadily smaller with each passing day, but a part that still never quite seemed to leave.

"Yeah." She answered, her voice heavy. "Well, they used to, anyway."

"Oh, right. The massacre." Fuu looked down at her feet, becoming uncharacteristically sullen. "We heard about it, when it happened. The Uchiha clan have a lot of historical significance, you know, so it...it was a real tragedy. They're the most direct descendants of the Sage of Six Paths…"

"What, really?" Sakura blinked as she process this. "I don't even think _they_ knew that...though I wouldn't really know myself what the Uchiha knew."

"It was probably lost. A lot of knowledge doesn't make it outside of Taki. But the Sage of Six Paths had two sons, and through the line of one eventually made the Uchiha clan. That's why their eyes are so strong, you know. The Sage had the Rinnegan, and nobody's had that since, but the Uchiha have the next best thing probably. They can copy any jutsu, perform powerful genjutsu, see chakra…"

"They're...they were very strong." Sakura bit her lip for a brief moment. Fuu didn't know, she realized, didn't know the last member of the Uchiha clan had left Konoha, maybe for good. And it wouldn't be good of her to tell Fuu otherwise. Konoha had its secrets...it was her duty to keep them.

"I wonder what it means, then."

"Wonder what _what_ means?"

"That just one guy was able to kill all of those shinobi, who _also_ had the Sharingan."

Itachi. Sakura had to admit that she wondered, too, what Itachi was like. How he'd gotten so strong. How he'd been driven so mad as to turn against his own clan. He was a member of Akatsuki, which meant the odds were good that she might _see_ him one day, might have to face him, might have to defend Gaara from him.

Sakura shuddered. Even with all of Onoki's words of encouragement, even knowing that the man had fought the most formidable Uchiha of all, Madara...Sakura worried.

"Yeah, I wonder too." Sakura answered. She began to scan the valley below again, wanting some sort of distraction from the heavy talk. Movement caught her eye, but at first she didn't look to it. She'd seen plenty of birds flying down there, this one was probably just…

A person.

A _person_.

Two people, wearing black robes with red clouds. _Akatsuki_.

Quickly, Sakura threw herself backwards, pulling Fuu with her. If they were _seen_, if they were _spotted_, she absolutely couldn't hold off two Akatsuki members on her own but if it meant keeping a Jinchuuriki safe...she'd _have_ to. She kept low to the ground, peeking over the side of the cliff...and it looked as though the two hadn't noticed.

"I've seen that Zetsu demon wear robes like that, those are the ones!" Fuu whispered as they watched. "But I've never seen others over here before. You said they're a whole big bad group, right?"

"Right." Sakura nodded. "And if they look our way at _all_, you need to run home as fast as you can, alright? I'll be right behind you."

"Okay."

Fuu looked nervous, and Sakura couldn't blame her. The last two Akatsuki members she'd seen had been as menacing as they came...but as Sakura reached up to touch the talisman around her neck, a habit now, she thought of how Hidan had treated her. Friendly, eager...and he hadn't known Gaara was a Jinchuuriki, so they had stayed safe. If Akatsuki did see them, maybe she'd get lucky. Maybe they wouldn't know Fuu was a Jinchuuriki either.

The two men down below look similarly menacing. One had light blue skin and carried what looked to be a large sword upon his back. It was too far below to make out more details, but from what Sakura remembered, that description meant...Kisame Hoshigaki. Which meant his companion, the one with the dark hair and eyes, had to be…

_Itachi Uchiha_.

Sakura's heart pounded in her chest. It was her worst fears come to life, if Itachi so much as looked up...but they were so high up, there was no way he'd catch sight of her on accident, could he?

And then, as quick as she'd seen them, the two had gone further into the woods and out of her sight.

Sakura continued to hold her breath. Just because she'd lost sight, didn't mean they were safe. Stay still, stay calm, don't move…

And why, Sakura had to ask herself, why were the Akatsuki _here_?

Five minutes passed before Sakura let them move again, and from there it was straight back to Takigakure. Akatsuki was close, and Taki had to be warned, even if they weren't planning on leaving the borders of the Mountains' Graveyard.

Nowhere in any of the notes she'd read in Konoha had a base for Akatsuki been mentioned. Sakura realized, as they ran, that it was possible she may have found it. The Graveyard, so far from human civilization, full to the brim with demons (if Taki was to be believed)...of _course_ only the strongest shinobi could survive there, and that meant fewer people would come to hunt them down.

She needed to tell Taki. She needed to tell _Iwa_ and _Konoha_ that this organization that sought out Bijuu was hiding out here in the untamed forests.

And now, Sakura realized, now she had seen the face of Itachi Uchiha. The man who had torn her team apart with his actions and words, the man who had slaughtered his entire clan, the man who had taken up root in Sasuke's mind and heart…

"That is correct, Sakura Haruno. I am that man."

The world melted around her, and Sakura saw Itachi Uchiha standing before her.

Genjutsu, but _how_? She hadn't met his eyes, she hadn't even _seen_ him and she'd been caught. She threw her hands together, cutting off her chakra flow in a desperate attempt to free herself, but with every attempt the illusion around her remained the same. A dark red sky, trees of black, and Itachi still there in front of her.

And that meant _Fuu_ was in danger.

Desperate, Sakura pulled a kunai out. Pain, that was the only other way to break genjutsu. Onoki had stabbed his own arm to escape Madara's genjutsu, which mean that she could break free if she just…

A hand grabbed hold of her own, and suddenly Itachi was right next to her.

"Stop." He ordered. "This is the only way you and I can speak without the influence of others, and you have much you need to tell me."

"_Fuck_ you!" Sakura let a second kunai fall to her free hand, and she lashed out at Itachi with gusto. He faded into smoke, but the grip on her hand was gone, and that meant…

"Sakura, _please_."

The man's voice was so genuine, so pleading, that Sakura froze. She hadn't expected such emotion from a murderer. But she couldn't pause now, it didn't matter what he had to say, what mattered was breaking free…

"I need you to tell me why Sasuke is with Orochimaru."

There was silence, and then Sakura let out a bitter laugh. He couldn't be serious, how could he not _know_? It was exactly what he'd _driven_ Sasuke to do, filling his heart with such hatred that he had no other _option_.

Sakura pointed her kunai towards Itachi, no longer scared but _angry_. "If you really don't know, then you're an idiot as well as a murderer. You _killed_ everyone he loved and you left him alive for whatever sick purpose you concocted in your head. All he can think about is vengeance and getting stronger, so of course he went to the _strongest_ fucking person he knew. And even if it was wrong, I'll tell you right now...if I don't kill you here, _he_ certainly will."

Itachi held up a hand as Sakura threatened him, looking in turn confused, angry, and then sullen.

"It wasn't...what I meant for him. He was supposed to stay with Konoha. They _promised_."

"...they?" Sakura frowned. Now _this_ was...new. Was Itachi really so deluded as to think someone had condoned his actions?

"They." Itachi repeated. "The Root of Konoha."

Sakura's heart froze in her chest.

Son of a _bitch_.


	40. Chapter 40

_Eighth Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact_

_A village may leave the pact upon formal written declaration, signed by the village leader. Leaving the pact revokes all rights to protections and trade routes guaranteed under the pact. A village that has left the pact, or any newly founded village that has yet to join the pact, may submit a written request to join that will be considered by pact ambassadors._

* * *

Several things went through Sakura's mind all at once.

The first, ever pressing, was that she was trapped inside Itachi Uchiha's genjutsu, and normal disruption techniques did not work. She thought back to Kakashi and Sasuke, who'd both experienced the full effects of Itachi's Sharingan and had been bedridden for weeks until Tsunade had treated them. It hadn't escaped her thoughts that _she_ might end up in that position if she couldn't find a way to awaken herself, which meant Fuu was in immediate danger.

The second, increasingly pressing, was that Itachi had suggested that Root had not only condoned the massacre, but had supported Itachi's wishes regarding Sasuke. Sakura wished that surprised her more than it did. Root was involved in some nasty shit, but to be involved in the Uchiha massacre, even tangentially? Unacceptable, unless Itachi was lying to distract her. Assuming she got out of this alive, Shikamaru needed to know of this. They needed to investigate further.

And that led to thought three: even if Sakura did manage to break this genjutsu, how was she going to take on _two Akatsuki members at once_?

She needed to find a way out. She needed to _think_.

Pain. She needed to distract Itachi long enough to be able to make a move with her kunai. It was the only shot she had, but distracting Itachi at _all_ would be difficult. She had no idea the extent of how the genjutsu had affected her, if the scenery being shown was the same scenery that was actually around her, if Fuu was nearby, if _Kisame_ was nearby...she could hurt Fuu on accident if she tried a flashy jutsu. And Itachi could easily hide his true location now that she was trapped in his gaze. No, attacking Itachi wasn't the answer.

Well, he _did_ seem in the mood to talk.

"Do you honestly think that's believable?" Sakura demanded, taking a tentative step to the left to see how Itachi would react. He didn't move...good. "Nobody in Konoha would agree to the destruction of one of their strongest clans on _any_ terms, not even Root. Losing the Uchiha _crippled_ the village. And Root didn't even _try_ to get Sasuke back when he ran off with Orochimaru. They're more interested in _me_ than your brother."

"...liars and schemers." Itachi replied, his voice low and stewing with rage. "It doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't." Sakura took another step, then took a fighting stance. She had one shot, she needed to make it _count_. "For all I know, you're just trying to distract me while your partner kills my friend." It was possible they didn't know about what Fuu was, and she wasn't going to give them _that_ information for free.

"You're right." Itachi answered. "This is a distraction, I'm sorry to say. I have appearances to maintain, and we are too close to the enemy for me to go easy on you. I apologize, Sakura Haruno, but I cannot allow you to interfere with Akatsuki's goals. Trapping you here is the only way to ensure that you survive this encounter."

"You think you're being merciful, then?" Sakura spat. "I'd rather fucking _die_ then let Akatsuki get away with _anything_ they have planned." She took her anger as a cue, feigning to throw both of her kunai towards Itachi at once. Instead, she threw neither, turning the blade of one kunai back so she could run the blade into her arm.

The blade went through, and she felt a searing pain.

But she did not wake up.

"You are brave, but the illusion of the Mangekyo Sharingan is made to induce pain upon your mind. I only stopped you before so that your mind would be clear for our conversation."

Her kunai faded from her hands, as well as the rest of the scenery around them. Sakura stood within a dark red void, with only Itachi left before her.

"We will be taking the Jinchuuriki." Itachi told her. "Rest assured that it will be for the continued prosperity of Konoha, even if you do not believe me now. Unfortunately, I cannot set you free. I must let my Tsukuyomi run its course."

"Let it run all you like. The last person to get into my head found out the hard way what happens when you screw with me. The instant I'm out of this stupid genjutsu, I am going to kick your ass so damn _hard_ there won't be anything _left_ for Sasuke!"

"I see." Itachi answered. "Then I shall have to dissuade you from taking action against me."

In the blink of an eye, Itachi was gone. Then, Sakura heard his voice right by her ear.

"The Tsukuyomi will show you your worst nightmares for the next seventy-two hours. You will suffer. But you will live. Do not try to interfere with me, or else I will be forced to revoke my leniency."

When Sakura turned to look, Itachi was gone. And that was when she saw the first nightmare.

Gaara, held in the air by unknown force, screaming in agony as chakra, the chakra of _Shukaku_, was forcibly ripped from his body. His cries of pain seemed to hold Sakura hostage, unable to move or look away as she watched the life literally drain from his eyes. He fell to the ground, limp and unmoving, and Sakura let out a desperate moan.

Instantly the image was replaced, and it was Naruto in the air this time, the screams so real that for a moment Sakura could feel herself actually _believing_ it.

She saw Kakashi, ripped to pieces by an unknown enemy. Sai, executed, horror showing on his face for the first time. Sasuke, the last of his will fading as he was slowly taken over by Orochimaru. Her parents, Ino, Onoki, Fuu, everyone she'd ever met and cared for in her life, dying in horrific ways and _all she could do was watch_.

And then, once the visions had run their course, Sakura turned and saw Gaara once again, and the cycle restarted anew. She realized, now, what tortures Sasuke and Kakashi had been put through at Itachi's hands. She would be stuck watching this for what her mind would perceive to be _three straight days_, and nothing she knew how to do could stop it. And by the time the genjutsu was done, she'd be powerless to stop them from taking Fuu.

It couldn't end like this. _It couldn't end like this_.

Sakura threw her hands together, once again trying to cut off the flow of her chakra, but for all she knew she wasn't actually even moving her hands in reality, only in her mind. If she was trapped in this illusion and unable to move, there was no _real_ way to cut off her chakra, no _real_ way to stop the genjutsu. She was trapped, she was trapped, she was _trapped_, and even when she tried to close her eyes she found herself incapable of doing so, incapable of looking away from the nightmare that Itachi was showing her.

_Please..._ she thought to herself. _Please set me __**free**__._

She'd lost count of what cycle of the nightmare she was on. Her hands reached up to clasp at the amulet around her neck, and maybe it was stupid, but what else could she do but pray for help? If there _was_ a god, if Hidan's Jashin _did_ exist, they would be the only one that could provide her with the _miracle_ she needed to break free of this.

_**Please**_.

She felt the tears streaming down her face. She saw her friends die in front of her once again.

She felt a tingling in her hands.

The tingling started as a soft vibration, eventually becoming a warm feeling that grew and grew into an almost unbearable heat. But Sakura couldn't open her hands, in fact she felt herself clasping _tighter_ as the amulet burned.

And then, all at once, everything went to black.

Sakura heard a ringing in her ears, and an ache that spread across her entire body. It took her a minute to realize that the pain had to be coming from her _chakra_ coils, as she no longer could feel the familiar sensation of power that she'd been born with, that she'd honed under Onoki's tutelage. It was as if all of the chakra in her body had suddenly _left_.

The ringing grew louder, eventually becoming the sounds of wind and rustling leaves. Sakura opened her eyes and saw the sky.

The _real_ sky.

Her whole body felt numb from the sudden lack of chakra, but Sakura could feel a hot sensation around her heart as her chakra began to slowly bleed back into herself. Somehow, she'd managed to completely empty her body of chakra and _wake herself up_.

Time seemed to stop as she turned desperately towards Fuu.

Itachi and Kisame were now standing in front of them. It appeared as though they hadn't actually moved at _all_ from their spot on the cliff, as Sakura could make out the scenery of the Mountain's Graveyard beyond the two Akatsuki. Fuu had summoned her chakric wings and drawn a blade, but looked desperate. She had probably realized that Sakura had been caught in a genjutsu, as she was pointedly looking down at the Akatsuki's feet.

Sakura wasn't stupid enough to meet Itachi's eyes again. But she could see his body language, and she could tell from his posture that he was looking towards her, and his mouth was open in shock.

She'd broken _free_.

She'd broken free and, son of a bitch, she didn't have any _chakra_.

It was slowly bleeding back into her body, but the sensation was getting more and more painful, like pins and needles in every coil. If she tried a jutsu now, it might force the chakra through her coils faster, and Sakura wasn't sure she could handle that sort of pain. But Fuu's _life_ was in danger. She didn't have a _choice_.

"Hey, Itachi…" She heard a voice, Kisame's, echo through the ringing in her head. "Did you hold back? Not even _Kakashi_ could break out of _that_ jutsu."

"I…" Sakura heard Itachi stammer, and got a bit of smug satisfaction out of knowing she'd caught the Uchiha off guard. "I'm not sure."

Sakura had the advantage. Itachi hadn't expected her to break out, and she had one good chance at a move to fight them off. She needed to do something that would ensure Fuu's safety. She needed to do something that would ensure Fuu had a chance to _get away_.

Because Sakura wasn't sure if she'd be conscious after she forced a jutsu through her body now. The pain of it might prove too much.

One move. One shot. She knew she wasn't capable of taking on two Akatsuki on her own at _full_ strength, how the hell was she supposed to take them down in one _move_?

And then, all at once, it hit her.

She could take them _down_ in one move. Literally. It would take her down with them. But Fuu had wings. Fuu would make it, would get her chance to run to the village. Fuu would be _safe_.

Sakura was the head ambassador to the Shinobi Neutrality Project, tasked with ensuring the peace and protection of all shinobi villages. It was Sakura's _personal_ mission to ensure that all Jinchuuriki remained safe from the clutches of Akatsuki. These were the missions she was determined to dedicate her life to. She had to do it. For Gaara. For Naruto. For Han and Roshi and Fuu and all the Jinchuuriki whose lives were threatened.

Sakura shakily stood to her feet, forcing herself to give Itachi a grin.

"What did I tell you, you son of a bitch? I'm out of your genjutsu. Now it's _ass-kicking time_."

She had spent months studying the properties of earth under Onoki. She knew from a glance what sort of soil she was standing on, she knew from her memory of climbing this cliff what sort of rocks made up its structure. Her mind began to run calculations, and she pictured in her head a half circle surrounding herself and the Akatsuki, lined perfectly with the side of the cliff. If she used a well placed fissure technique, she could separate this part of the cliff from the rest of the earth, which would send everyone but Fuu down to the ground of the Mountain's Graveyard, hundreds of feet below. It probably wouldn't kill the Akatsuki, but it would _delay_ them.

Onoki had always told her to fight smarter, not harder.

Sakura ran through the hand signs at rapid speed, and before either Akatsuki could react thrust her hands to the ground. Chakra was forced through her coils, and true to her prediction, Sakura had never felt such pain in her life. She screamed, but _willed_ her fissure into existence, _willed_ it despite the pain. She heard the earth crack like thunder around her, and then the ground beneath her shifted as the cliffside began to crumble away from the impact. Her stomach lurched as gravity kicked in, and she saw both Kisame and Itachi struggling to try and reach solid ground in time, but they weren't going to be quick enough.

Sakura's body went limp, and she felt herself begin to fall.

Seconds passed, and then she felt a hand grab the back of her shirt, and instead of falling she was _soaring_ over the Graveyard. Her vision blurred, but she could still make out the giant bones that had held her fascination before, and as she struggled to figure out what was happening, her eyes locked on to a mountain far in the distance.

Her amulet burned.

Strong arms suddenly wrapped around her, and Sakura realized that she was being carried by Fuu back towards the cliff, over the trees, soaring over Taki Country.

"Sakura, stay with me!"

Fuu's voice became fainter and fainter, and Sakura slipped into a blissful, painless unconsciousness.

* * *

"We'll need to send word to Tsunade. If she's been hit by Itachi's Sharingan, Tsunade is the only one that will be able to wake her."

"She won't _wake up_?"

"And I'm telling she, she _was_ awake! She broke out of the genjutsu and fought them off!"

"I was only able to keep conscious after that jutsu because of my _Sharingan_, Fuu. Sakura doesn't have the Sharingan, there is no way her body would be able to-"

"You just don't want to admit she's stronger than you, you dirty old man!"

"I-I'm not _dirty_, and my reading habits are not the point here-"

Everything hurt.

Her head throbbed. Her body felt as though it had been poked with thousands of needles. Her hands felt raw and sore. Sakura didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't want to deal with the world. Sleep, that was what she needed, more sleep.

She felt a pressure on her hand as another wrapped around it. The person's skin was rough, but warm, like sand on a beach. She felt another pressure against her head, and heard a familiar voice speak into her ear.

"Sakura, please, you have to wake up."

Gaara. It was _Gaara_.

Sakura willed herself to move. She forced motion into her hand, enough to gently squeeze, to let Gaara know she was okay. She heard his breath hitch in his throat, and heard the room go silent around her.

Sakura opened her eyes.

She saw Gaara first of all, his head close to hers. He pulled away as she awakened, looking the picture of relief. Beyond him, Sakura saw Kakashi, Sai, Fuu, Shibuki, and several Taki shinobi she did not recognize, all looking equal parts relieved and confused at her awakening.

"Well, perhaps you should have known better." Sai was the first to speak. "Fisticuffs doesn't do anything right. Of course she wouldn't react to a genjutsu properly."

Kakashi let out a hollow laugh, and next to him Fuu let out a whoop of triumph.

"I told you, old man, I _told you_!"

Sakura didn't hear Kakashi's reply. She was overwhelmed as Gaara suddenly hugged her tightly. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again." He whispered, and Sakura felt the boy tremble as all of his emotions came free at once.

Sakura was alive. Sakura was alive and Fuu was _safe_.

And for the moment, that was all she needed to care about.

* * *

"Fuu, you will no longer be patrolling the Graveyard border. If Akatsuki have taken up residence in the area, the last thing we want is to give them further reason to try at your life again."

Sakura could barely keep herself awake, but the last thing she wanted to do was miss this important meeting of the Taki council. She was the only one beside Fuu who could give the full report on what had happened, and more importantly, she needed to show strength as a head ambassador. It didn't matter that she could barely move her body, or that Gaara had to push her around in a wheelchair. She was now the shinobi that had survived a fight with _Itachi_ and saved the Taki Jinchuuriki from Akatsuki's hands. If anyone dared to try and look down on her for her current weakness, well, what they thought just didn't _matter_.

No one did, of course. In fact, Taki's council seemed to take her even more seriously than before. Sakura wondered if there was any question now that Taki would join the Pact. She'd proven both her strength and her determination to keep others safe.

As Sai had privately put it, they'd be idiots _not_ to join after her display.

"We should restrain Fuu within the village borders until Akatsuki are dealt with." One councilwoman suggested. "Why risk her and Choumei's life at all? Akatsuki could never breach our defenses in a hundred years."

"No, but similarly so, I don't think we could keep Fuu in one place for a hundred seconds, let alone a hundred years." Another councilman retorted. "Our village cannot be without her assistance. She is the most capable among us of taking out the demons that threaten our borders."

"You don't need to face these threats alone." Sakura took the opportunity to speak up. "If Taki joins the Pact, Konoha, Iwa, and Plains will be obligated to provide you with aid. Konoha borders the Graveyard as well. If they understand the gravity of the situation, I am certain they will be more than willing to increase their force at the border, which would take pressure off of Taki's shinobi."

"We have the captured demons that Miss Haruno has helped provide us." Shibuki added. "The villages will be unable to deny us if they see living proof of the forces that seek to do us harm. Forces that we have reason to believe might be aligned with Akatsuki, if the Zetsu demon is any indication."

Shibuki brought forth the written Pact that Sakura had given him before. He presented it before the council, pen at the ready.

"Are there any here who would speak against this proposal? Are there any here who still doubt Miss Haruno's dedication to her treaty's aims?"

The council was silent. Without another word, Shibuki signed the treaty. Sakura couldn't help but smile. Sure, she had the physical capacity of a wet noodle currently, but it had all been _worth_ it. She felt Gaara squeeze her shoulder in excitement.

"Welcome to the alliance, shinobi of Takigakure." Sakura announced. "We are tremendously grateful for your support of world peace."

"And I have something to add." To Sakura's surprise, Kakashi spoke up. "There is a rather perfect opportunity coming up for Taki to demonstrate the threat we face. Konoha is going to be attempting to host the chuunin exams yet again, and every village is invited to send their shinobi to participate. That means that village leaders will be invited to witness the exams as well, potentially including villages that have not yet signed the treaty. If Taki decides to participate, you would be able to speak to those leaders yourself, Shibuki. And Sakura, you would be able to convince those villages yet to join that your pact is worth their time."

"That would mean leaving my village without my leadership for a time. And without whatever shinobi we decide to bring to said exams."

"Use it to your advantage!" Sakura suggested. "You're worried about Fuu's safety, aren't you? If she's on one of the teams participating, she'll be the safest she could possibly be! Akatsuki would be stupid to try and attack with so many shinobi present."

"Orochimaru was that stupid." Sai pointed out.

"Orochimaru had forcibly assumed leadership of Suna without our knowledge." Gaara pointed out. "And even with two villages attempting an assault on Konoha, Konoha was _still_ able to hold us off. Now that Suna is not under such influences, they are aligned with Konoha. Coupled with those villages who have signed the pact and will likely show up as well, that will mean at minimum five villages, including Taki, who will be defending from any would-be attackers."

"We are more than capable of defending the village in your absence, Lord Shibuki." A councilwoman added. "Taki shinobi are the strongest in the land. You know this."

"I know this." Shibuki agreed. "Yes, perhaps this would be a wise course of action. Prepare sealing scrolls for the transport of the demons. And Fuu, you will pick two shinobi to join you for participation in these exams."

"I get to go to Konoha _and_ show everyone how strong I am? _Yes!_" Fuu pumped her fist into the air. "Today couldn't get any better!"

"This is a serious matter, Fuu. The exams are secondary to our goals." Shibuki reminded her. "We will prepare for travel immediately. Once Sakura is well, we head to Konoha."

* * *

"Tell me again what Itachi told you."

"He said that Sasuke was supposed to stay in Konoha. That _Root_ promised him this. He also said that helping Akatsuki right now was somehow going to benefit Konoha in the long run."

"None of this makes sense at _all._"

Kakashi paced back and forth, looking far more agitated than Sakura had ever seen him. Even Sai didn't know what Itachi had been referring to in regards to Root, and that just meant either that this went deeper than any of them had believed, or that Itachi was an incredibly convincing liar.

"And you're telling me you somehow made your chakra just _vanish_? Even under the effects of the Mangekyo?"

"_Yes_, Kakashi-sensei, and _no_ I don't know how I did it. I just remember…" Sakura reached up to touch at the amulet around her neck. "I remember being desperate. Pleading for someone to help. And then it _happened_."

"Sakura, we have all seen some fairly incredible things, but I think we all find it hard to believe that someone's _god_ suddenly decided to take pity on you in a moment of need."

Sakura shook her head. "I...I think there was more to it than that? I'm not sure. But right now I don't have a better explanation for you." She frowned, looking down at her hands. Though she had only touched the amulet in the illusion, her hands still had the effects of a mild burn. Kakashi was right. It didn't make sense at all.

"Listen, Kakashi-sensei, if I figure out what I did, you will be the _first_ one I tell."

"I...I know." Kakashi softened. "And what's more important is that you're alive."

"Yes." Gaara emphasized. "You're alive, and he'll never get the _chance_ to do that to you again."

"Good, because I'm going to be honest, whatever that was _sucked_ and I don't want have to do it again." Sakura flexed her arms, feeling the now familiar sensation of pins and needles shoot through it. The Taki healers had told her that she'd likely damaged her coils by forcing chakra through them so quickly. She would recover, but it would take time. "Too bad I'm not Naruto. I'd love to be able to bounce back after a single night's sleep."

And that reminded her…

She had a letter to write. Shikamaru had told her he was gathering the remnants of Rookie Nine to secretly investigate Root and bring them down from within. And now, with Taki about to be on route to Konoha, she'd be able to join them.

Sakura smiled.

She was…

She was coming _home_.


	41. Chapter 41

_Ninth Tenant of the Shinobi Neutrality Pact_

_A village is considered bound to the pact until the village changes leadership. A new leader must sign the pact upon promotion or else the village will be removed from pact agreements._

* * *

Even in the the desert, nighttime had always been aflutter with life. Gaara knew this better than anyone. With the shade of night to protect them, wildlife became aflutter in the dark. Birds took to the skies, insects scuttled along the village walls, and sandcats were always on the prowl, looking for stray rabbits and ground squirrels. A foreigner might think the desert quiet. Gaara knew better.

The caves of Takigakure, however, were truly _silent_ at night.

Gaara wasn't certain if it was village ritual, or just the fact that they were far beneath ground, but the only sound that made it to his ears was the far, _far_ off rush of the underground river that flowed into the village's lake. Even then, the lake seemed still. The bats flew on silent wings after glowing dragonflies, and even then Gaara couldn't hear them pushing through the night air. No noise, not a sound from the world buried within the caves.

And perhaps it was the silence that made Sakura's dreaming whimpers even more painful to listen to.

It had been four nights since Sakura had faced down Itachi Uchiha at the border of the Mountains' Graveyard. Four days of Sakura exhausted from chakra drainage and an unknown toll on her mind that the healers could only shrug through. Sakura put on a cheerful face, but Gaara was learning now how to read beneath the masks people wore. Sakura wasn't exhausted, no, that was too generous a term for whatever it was Itachi's technique did to a person. Sakura was _empty_, and when the night came, so did the nightmares.

For once, Gaara was grateful that he did not sleep. She whimpered less when he kept a hand on her shoulder.

"It gets better." Kakashi had told him. Gaara had been somewhat relieved when Kakashi had told him that he, too, had survived the technique...and Kakashi didn't whimper in _his_ sleep. "But the technique of the Mangekyo warps one's perception of time. Three days can happen in the span of a single moment. It takes a while before the brain catches up to reality."

Kakashi hadn't mentioned how long, and Gaara knew better than to ask. If this was what it was like for Sakura, equally so it must have been for Kakashi. All he could do was trust that Sakura would heal and, for now, be there.

The healers estimated another weak before Sakura's chakra recovered enough for her to be in traveling condition. And they were in one of the safest villages on the continent. Gaara couldn't complain too much. Here, in the Taki caves, they could afford to rest.

Emi bristled suddenly in his lap, her tiny claws raking into the fabric of his pants. Whenever Sai approached, it usually unnerved her. At first, Gaara had wondered if it was the nature of _how_ Sai approached, quiet and unusually quick. However, Emi tended to get antsy even when she saw Sai coming a block away. His demeanor, then, Gaara theorized. He knew that, when he was young, his calm, murderous nature had unnerved most people. Sai didn't exude any sort of nature at all, and perhaps that was even more upsetting to an animal that could only gauge a situation by reading body language and intent.

Sai appeared in the window just as Gaara began to soothe Emi with a back rub. He tended to come to Sakura's room every night, quietly watching for a while before returning to his own room. Something was on the boy's mind, and Gaara had pried time and time again to no avail. Sakura had milked some truths out of him, but he was no Sakura. All he could do was wait and hope that Sai would either figure it out, or figure out how to talk to others.

For about an hour, the two of them sat in silence. Emi took her time before settling back down into Gaara's lap, but kept her eye on Sai at all times. There was a strange tenseness in the air, and Gaara realized for the first time that this was probably how it felt for others to see _him_ at night.

"She shouldn't have gone."

Gaara blinked as Sai finally spoke. He was amazed that the boy's voice didn't wake Sakura, but despite her twitching she remained steadily asleep.

Gaara hated admitting that he agreed with Sai.

"She doesn't regret it." He countered.

"Not this time. But if she continues to act stupidly, there will come such a time."

"Tell that to her, then."

"I don't think she'd listen to me." Sai argued. His face held no emotion as he looked upon Sakura's sleeping form. "But she'd listen to you. You're her partner."

Gaara wasn't sure that Sakura would listen to _anyone_ when she set her mind to something. But Sai had a point. If Sakura was going to listen to anyone at all…

But who was he to lecture her on doing something he might have easily tried himself? Risking life and limb for another...Gaara wouldn't have done it for just anyone, but he _would_ do it for Sakura, no matter who was on the other side of the fight. That Sakura would do it for a stranger was, if one looked at it critically, a 'stupid action'. But Gaara was beginning to understand that sort of action now. To do things for others, to live for others, to _die_ for others…

Gaara had seen people at their _strongest_ protecting others. Who was he to dissuade Sakura from doing what he had seen her do time and time again? First for Sasuke, now for Fuu...it was, Gaara had realized, just who Sakura _was_.

"No." Gaara shook his head. "I don't think she'd listen to me either."

"Then maybe you will listen to me."

Gaara looked to Sai, unsure of what the boy meant. "I'm listening to you now."

"I mean _really _listen. You want this peace treaty to succeed, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you should see the problem. People like you and I...we shouldn't be around her. Sakura acts stupidly when it comes to others. She tries to protect them at the expense of her own wellbeing. She can't possibly juggle vying for peace and keeping you safe from Akatsuki at the same time. If you stay with her, you'll just be putting her and the treaty in danger."

Emi growled at this, her fur bristling again. It took a few determined pats before Gaara could calm her. He was convinced, at times, that the tanuki somehow perfectly understood spoken word, but in this case...the intent Sai was giving off now was a confusing one. Gaara wasn't sure if Sai was acting hostile or...something else.

And of _course_ Sai had a point. It was much harder to be angry with him when he was logically sound.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Gaara decided to try a different approach. There was no winning an argument with Sai, only getting to the heart of the matter. "I was under the impression that you cannot return to Konoha."

"No." Sai agreed. "I cannot."

"And I will not return to Suna. There is no life for me there. None who see me as more than a weapon."

"Iwa would take you in. Taki, too, with how much they value the Bijuu. You are more than capable of finding a place in the world away from Sakura."

"The same could be said of you. A skilled shinobi would be welcomed in almost any village."

Sai shook his head. "Root will find me no matter where I go. It is only a matter of time."

There was an awkward silence then. An impasse. Nothing Gaara could say would sway him, and Sai sure as hell wasn't going to convince him to leave Sakura's side. Even if it was dangerous, even if it meant difficulties...even if that meant he was _selfish, _Gaara couldn't leave her now.

Naruto had once referred to her as a precious person, someone he would do anything to protect. How ironic, now, how Gaara had come to fill that very same role.

There was a quiet flutter of movement and Sai was gone. But in his place on the windowsill, Gaara saw a familiar book. Sai's sketchbook. The boy carried it with him everywhere, so why would he leave it now? Curiously, Gaara reached out, his sand wrapping around the book and bringing it towards him. As he opened it to look, Emi popped her head through his arms, her eyes glancing over it as well.

Drawings. Pages and pages of drawings. Many of them were simple drawings. Birds. Mice. Deer. Trees. All things they had likely run across in their time at Iwa and during the journey to Taki. Gaara even caught sight of a few drawings of bats and dragonflies. But those weren't the pictures that interested him.

It was instead the pictures of Sakura and himself that caught his eyes. Dozens upon dozens of portraits, all trying to capture the same expression. Sakura, smiling. Him...not quite smiling yet, but Gaara could see a sort of peace in his eyes that had been much more common on his face as of late. His first thought was that it was a bit strange that Sai had been drawing them so much, but he realized all it once that it wasn't _them_ in particular he was trying to capture, it was the _expression_. The _feeling_. Happiness. Joy. Peace.

And then, Gaara turned to the final page, and his heart froze in his chest.

A single word.

_Farewell_

**He's going to do something stupid. **Shukaku's voice echoed in his mind, and Gaara found himself agreeing with the Bijuu. **Sakura must be rubbing off on him.**

But what?

If there was nowhere Sai could go that Root wouldn't find him, wasn't the best option to stay here with them where it was safe? Why leave? And where would he go to?

And perhaps it didn't matter, because Gaara knew Sakura well enough to know that she would _pissed_ if he allowed Sai to do something stupid on his watch. And damn it all, Sakura had been through _enough_.

He'd wasted time going through the book, and Sai was hard to track. Gaara pocketed the book, not wanting Sakura to find it if she woke. He plopped Emi onto the ground and made his way to the open window. Emi, surprisingly, followed him.

"Can you sniff him out?" Gaara asked.

Emi let out a small bark in response. She hobbled her way to the windowsill, her nose scrunching as she sniffed the air. Then, without more prodding needed, she scampered off into the night.

Well, it was as good a lead as any.

Gaara followed, which was surprisingly difficult. Tanuki were fast, and they could scamper through holes and alleys that were difficult for someone of Gaara's size to get through. But the tanuki had caught onto something, and Gaara had reached the point where he was willing to trust the animal's instincts.

He could only hope he had enough time.

* * *

The shinobi of Taki were only too happy to see him leave.

Sakura, they trusted tentatively, but everyone else in her group were 'foreigners' and most Taki shinobi grouped foreigners in a series of two adjectives: untrustworthy and dangerous. When Sai told them that he was returning to Konoha, they let him through without a second thought. Sai couldn't even begin to let himself think how stupid a move it was to let any of them leave at all. (They knew where the entrance to the caves were, they could bring an _army_.)

But that didn't matter now. None of it mattered. He couldn't allow himself to think about Taki's defensive practices, because in about an hour or so, it wouldn't matter to him at all.

The night was still, and the only sounds were that of his feet hitting the branches of the trees as he ran. Sai was purposeful in his breaking of silence. His plan wouldn't work if the people he was looking for didn't hear him.

Sai had learned two things in his time with Sakura Haruno.

The first was that, despite the fervent claims of Danzo and the senior members of Root, it was impossible to completely stamp out emotion from a human heart. Sai had seen over a year ago what the shinobi Gaara had been like, before the invasion of Konoha had begun. The boy had been more monster than man, ruthless, what Danzo might have even considered a perfect killing machine. It was hard to reconcile the image of the homicidal Jinchuuriki with the boy that Sai had spoken with now. There wasn't a trace of the 'killer' left. So maybe it shouldn't have surprised him when he'd start to feel emotions bubble up through the shell of apathy that he had spent years honing to perfection. Outside of the regiment of Root, outside of Danzo's thumb...he had reverted. He had begun to feel again. He had begun to _want_ things. He had begun to _dislike_ things. And there was one factor that linked him and Gaara, one factor that had absolutely been a catalyst for these emotional changes. Sakura.

Which led him to the second thing he had learned: Sakura was going to change things.

It wasn't necessarily _her _that had been needed. She had simply been the one to step into a role that had been empty for decades. Not since the First Hokage had anyone ever tried to unite the shinobi world. Instead, there had been war. Deception. Invasion after invasion, skirmish after skirmish. It had become _expected_. But Sakura had taken the step to upturn the status quo. Even with the mere act of _pushing_ for peace, she was reminding others that it was an option. If she failed, someone else would take her place. Sakura wasn't just starting a treaty, she was potentially starting a _movement_.

Unless, of course, someone nipped that movement in the bud.

Sai knew as well as any member of Root that Danzo Shimura would not allow a peace treaty to come into effect. Konoha, as far as Danzo preached, was meant to be a dominant, ruling force. A treaty would never ensure that future for the village. Sakura was a threat, one that Danzo would stop at nothing to eliminate.

But Sakura now had the backing of more than just the current Hokage. With the Tsuchikage and the Takikage backing her, Danzo couldn't afford to make a direct movement against her. He had to play things smart. He had to outmaneuver her.

And Danzo had been playing this game for a _very_ long time.

What was absolutely certain right now was that there was no way that Sai would be able to avoid the repercussions of leaving Root. At the very least, Danzo would ensure his death. That outcome, at this point, was near unavoidable. It was possible that he could prolong the inevitable by staying with Sakura, but it was just a prolonging. And if he stayed...that led to the worst option.

Danzo would use him against Sakura.

It wouldn't be outright. Sakura had written enough into the Neutrality Pact to cover Sai's defection. Any person, civilian or shinobi, could choose to become an ambassador, and even if it was by proxy, Tsunade had signed the pact, which meant that any citizen of Konoha was covered by it. Sai included. But that wouldn't stop Danzo from using him against Sakura. He was a master of pulling strings, saying the right words behind the scenes...sure, he would say, Sakura _preached_ peace, but who was to say she wasn't trying to amass a shinobi army to start a village of her own? She'd pulled one of his own loyal agents away, _brainwashed_ him even into believing that the good of the country took priority over the good of his own kin.

If Sai stayed with Sakura, he would simply be a weapon against her.

Sai had known this for some time, toyed with the scenarios in his mind as they'd traveled from Iwa to Taki. But it hadn't been until Sakura had faced down Itachi Uchiha that he'd realized the only course of action that was left for him to take.

Sakura had been willing to risk her life for a near stranger. It had been stupid, but it had been the right thing to do. Saving Fuu from Akatsuki ingratiated her to Taki, and prevented Akatsuki from gaining a valuable resource. If she had died defending Fuu, she would have died for the right causes: the sake of peace, and the safety of the Jinchuuriki. Sakura hadn't thought twice about it. She'd simply _done_ it.

Sai had come to admire the decision. Root had taught him to act without hesitation for the good of the village. That sort of action was second nature. And it was time for him to apply his training for one final mission.

He wouldn't allow himself to be a weapon. Not against Sakura. She had fought for him. She had offered her _life_ for him back in Iwagakure.

Sai's thoughts lingered on his brother, and he smiled. Yes, the feeling was not unlike what he had felt for his brother back then. This _warmth_. He couldn't let this warmth die out. He couldn't allow Sakura to fail now because of him. He would ensure that her path forward was just a little bit clearer, even if it was only a little bit. Danzo would be her enemy, but he would have to work harder to get an edge once Sai's final mission was done.

It didn't take long for a Root agent to find him. Now that he was far from the Taki caves, closer to the Konoha border, it was only natural that there would be an agent or two skulking around looking for him. Root were masters of infiltration. There were Root agents stationed in every country. Taki was no exception.

Sai came to a halt in a meadow. The grass had grown to knee height, and with spring in full motion, pink flowers had begun to bloom on the ground around him. It was...kind of pretty. A good place for an end.

The Root agent landed in front of him, sword drawn. Their face was covered in a mask, with no discerning sign that they were working for Konoha. If a Taki shinobi saw them, Konoha would not be held accountable. As far as it appeared, this was simply two rogue shinobi, settling something.

"Agent." The voice sounded masculine. Sai recognized it. An agent only three years his senior, one who had trained him in kenjutsu when he was a child. "Root has ordered your immediate execution and retrieval."

Sai couldn't help but let out a small breath of relief. Danzo hadn't yet considered the benefits of keeping Sai alive and with Sakura. He was still motivated to protect his reputation. Retrieve his assets. He'd moved quickly enough.

"I am aware." Sai answered. "I have...become compromised. I offer my life freely for the good of Konoha."

The agent hesitated. Sai couldn't help but wonder if he, too, felt emotions beneath that mask. They were made to kill their brothers in order to graduate Root's gruelling training. Contrary to Danzo's belief, that didn't make it easier when it came to situations like this. Even before Sakura, Sai would have hesitated too.

"Do you have any final words?"

Sai took a deep breath. Even with recent events, he felt strangely calm now. At peace. This was the right decision, the right thing to do...for her. For _everyone_. Final words? What more could he say, here and now?

Maybe...it would have been nice to have a final word with Sakura. But she would have stopped him then. Wouldn't have understood.

No...there was nothing left to say.

"I have none."

The agent readied his sword, and Sai closed his eyes.

He heard a clash of steel.

Sai opened his eyes again and saw sand swirling around him. The agent in front of him had been blocked by a hovering wall of it, and he struggled to push through only for a moment before retreating back several hops away.

There was a rush of wind, and then Sai felt _chakra_.

It was so thick that he almost heaved with the intensity of it. He'd never felt energy this thick before, never felt something dripping with this much _anger_.

If he'd blinked, he would have missed Gaara flying by him. He wouldn't have seen the sand swirl into place around the Jinchuuriki's arm, forming the shape of a heavy claw. He wouldn't have seen the look of pure fury on Gaara's face. Wouldn't have felt the _rage_.

There was a sickening crunch, and the Root agent dropped to the ground, still.

For a brief moment, the forest was quiet. Sai held his breath, feeling _fear_ for the first time he could remember. The fear only intensified as Gaara spun towards him and their eyes met. Though the sand claw had started to drop to the ground, Sai could still feel the angry aura dripping from the Jinchuuriki, and he was frozen in place as Gaara approached.

They looked each other in the eyes, and Gaara took a few heaving breaths. Then, Gaara lashed out and punched him.

It was a clean hit. Sai saw a flash, and he dropped to the ground before he could process just what exactly had happened. He reached up, gingerly touching at the side of his face. Definitely going to bruise.

He felt something grab his shirt, and when he looked up he saw Gaara again.

"**What were you **_**thinking**_**?**"

There was a slight distortion to Gaara's voice still, and Sai couldn't help but tremble. Maybe he'd made a mistake, thinking Gaara wasn't still volatile, especially with what he'd just _done_.

And then, all at once, the aura began to fade. Sai could _breathe_ again, and Gaara's expression changed from anger to something more similar to distress.

"What were you thinking?" He repeated. "That man was about to _kill_ you."

"I know." Sai gasped. "That was supposed to be the intention."

"But _why_?"

"It's the only way. The only way Sakura will be safe from Root. I have to remove myself from the equation."

Gaara let go of his shirt, and Sai hit the ground once again. His head was still swimming from the blow, and...well, there was a part of him that was convinced he was dreaming this. _Gaara_, come to _save_ him? He hadn't been convinced Gaara particularly _liked_ him.

"Why?" Sai forced himself to ask. "It would be easier. One less problem to solve. And you'd have Sakura all to yourself again."

"Because it's not what she _wants_!" Gaara practically yelled in response. "She's still recovering from that _bastard_'_s_ attack, do you really think seeing you dead would _relieve_ her?"

Sai didn't have an answer to that. It was silly, that she'd gotten so attached to him. Silly that she got attached to others so easily. It was going to get her _killed_ one day.

He felt a hand grab his arm, and suddenly he was heaved upward into a standing position.

"You're coming back." Gaara told him. "And if you try anything _stupid_ again, I'll take Shukaku's advice and knock you unconscious."

"It might be easier to do that anyway. I'm not sure which way is up."

"...oh."

Sai felt his arm get pulled around Gaara's shoulders, until the boy was holding him up. From there, the two of them began to walk. Gaara was fairly steady, and it didn't take long before Sai's head stopped spinning and he could start holding himself up again.

"You realize Root is going to hear about this."

"There are a lot of demons in the woods." Gaara retorted. "He got unlucky."

"Root is going to do everything within their power to bring you and Sakura down."

"We know."

"I'm just going to-"

"Stop." Gaara came to a halt. He shifted so he could look at Sai directly. "Listen to me."

"...alright."

"I used to hate you."

The admission was blunt, but not surprising. Any idiot could have figured out the Jinchuuriki hadn't been fond of him since day one.

"You were annoying. You got between me and Sakura. And you're a liability. But...you're one of us. And…" Gaara let out a small sigh. "And I can't let you make Sakura upset. She cares about you. Which means _I _have to care about you. And if you keep trying to throw your life away, I'll just keep dragging you back until you get it through your head that we aren't going to let you die for us." Gaara then reached out, jabbing a finger at his chest. "And don't you _dare_ tell me that I'm being stupid."

There was a lot Sai could have said. He'd thought Gaara would understand. To give one's life for another...wasn't that the _point_? Wasn't that why Sakura was where she was now? She'd said it herself, she'd left her village to find a way to keep her old teammates safe. For the good of others...that was what had _started_ all of this.

Sai turned and began to walk again. No, there was nothing more _to_ say. His final mission had failed. All that was left now was to-

"Sai, what do you _want_?"

Sai stopped. The question...what did it mean? What did it matter?

"It has never mattered what I've wanted. I existed solely for the good of Konoha. And now, I exist to-"

"That's not what I asked, Sai."

Gaara was determined, it seemed, to get some sort of answer. Sai debated lying, coming up with something to satisfy him. What he wanted...what he _wanted_…

"I want to feel it." Sai answered. "That feeling of peace that you feel with each other. Being sure in each other. Having a purpose that you chose."

His thoughts went to his brother. The only other person he'd let himself care for. He'd forgotten what that meant, to really _feel_ for another person.

"...if Sakura dies because of me, that won't be what I feel."

"Then we make sure she doesn't die."

Gaara held out a hand to him, still just as determined as before.

"We swear it, here and now. No more running. We do this her way, and we keep her safe. Whether it's Root or Akatsuki or..._anything_. We don't let anything touch Sakura again."

Sai looked at the hand, and then back to Gaara.

It was...more desirable than dying. Even if dying was easier.

But it didn't seem like it was his time just yet. And Gaara, despite everything, had come for him. Had saved his life.

It would be a bit of a dick move to turn his back on Gaara now.

Sai took his hand. "We swear it." He agreed. "Nothing touches Sakura again."

Gaara nodded in approval, and they shook. They began to walk again, and Sai did his best to ignore the throbbing from the bruise that was likely forming on his face.

"...and you promise never to punch me that hard again."

"I don't make promises I can't keep."

"Grumpy."

"Asshole."

Sai stole a glance at Gaara. There was a small smile on the boy's face now, and…

Well, Sai couldn't help but smile a little bit too.

* * *

((Author's Note: I want to thank you all for the incredibly warm reception here on FF! Your comments have been lovely, and I hope to continue to provide writing that you guys enjoy! I try to maintain a weekly schedule; SBATC will update Sunday nights unless there's extenuating circumstances. Thank you again!))


	42. Chapter 42

Sakura woke up alone.

This was somewhat unusual; Gaara hadn't left her side since she'd awoken from her chakra exhausted state, and though Sakura couldn't help but wonder where the boy had gotten to, she was a little bit grateful for the (no doubt) temporary alone time. She had to put on a brave face when Gaara was around or else he'd worry. Now, she could let herself be…

Well, she wasn't exactly upset. Another nightmare, but at this point it was becoming the norm, waking up in a cold sweat with the after image of dead loved ones burned into her eyes. At some point, Sakura's mind had just become numb. If she'd experienced the full effects of the Mangekyo, the full 'three days' Itachi had promised, would this have happened still? Or would each death have felt as fresh as the first? Sakura hoped she never had to find the answer to that, but she did know that dealing with the after effects of Itachi's eyes was not great and not something she'd quite figured out how best to approach yet.

Some part of her wanted to cry, and another part of her hated herself for it. She had _always_ been the crybaby, unable to move or act while Sasuke or Naruto handled a tough situation for her. She was _sick_ of crying. Kakashi hadn't cried when he'd woken up. Sasuke hadn't…

Well, perhaps that was an unfair comparison. Sasuke had woken up _different_ after his time with Itachi. Whatever Itachi had shown him, it had been enough to drive him to Orochimaru. And Kakashi never showed much emotion in front of _anyone_. Sakura desperately wanted to ask him how he'd coped, what he'd seen, how he'd _felt_...but then she remembered that it was Kakashi and pulling out an honest response about himself was harder than pulling teeth. So maybe, in this particular case, it was okay to cry just a little bit.

With Gaara gone, it was easier to let it come. So Sakura finally let herself _feel_.

Itachi had been so damn strong that he'd captured her in genjutsu without her even meeting his eyes or realizing he'd done it, from hundreds of feet away. Itachi had caught her in a technique so powerful that Sakura still wasn't sure how she'd pulled free. Kakashi doubted her, but if Kakashi couldn't break it, if _Sasuke_ couldn't break it, then clearly some sort of deity _had_ to have helped her, because there was no way she had some sort of latent ability that enabled her to resist _Sharingan_.

Her mind began to work through it again as she cried, and it was easier now that she didn't have to worry about keeping her emotions in check. Her amulet had burned, and all of the chakra in her body had momentarily disappeared. Had it vanished, or had she somehow thrust it out of her all at once? The healers had theorized that she'd burned out her chakra coils attempting to do a strong earth jutsu without waiting for her chakra fully return, which suggested the former, but how did one's chakra simply vanish? It wasn't that she'd severed the connection temporarily, it had just been _gone_.

And there was a detail that she'd _missed_, something that her mind kept nagging her to remember, but the memory was fuzzy now and Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen something important and just..._forgotten_.

Frustration began to override her sorrow, and the tears stopped. Anger, Sakura was learning, had a way of keeping other emotions at bay. It was little wonder Sasuke had developed the way he had been. It was easier to be angry at his brother. Harder to grieve. Harder to cope.

How funny that Sakura understood him now far better than she ever had before, when it was too late.

Her body still tingled at times, but her chakra had almost fully returned to a normal state. But what gave Sakura pause was that it somehow felt _different_. Like a foreign body had invaded her coils instead of her own chakra. She'd been forbidden from trying jutsu until the healers gave her permission, and with Gaara watching her so closely she'd been hesitant to disobey, but now with him gone…

A tiny little jutsu couldn't hurt now, could it? Just to see? Maybe she'd feel better if she let her chakra just flow for a bit, do something that was too easy to be exhausting.

Her sensing jutsu.

Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had to do it now, before Gaara returned to chastise her. She ran through the hand signals and pushed her chakra outwards.

Everything flooded in at once, and Sakura let out a small yelp.

It was like she'd somehow blinded herself with the action, but as she processed what had occured, she realized that somehow there was just chakra _everywhere_. In the ground, in the walls, in the fungus growing on the cave walls outside, in the lake, in the giant tree that dominated over the village, as well as _every_ person around her, not just shinobi. Shinobi had more than civilians, far more, but everyone, _everyone_ had _so much chakra_ that her mind couldn't process it all at once, so instead she just registered _signal_.

Slowly the signal began to fade, and after what felt like an eternity it became easier to process. Sakura felt a heavy tingling throughout her body as chakra bled in to replace what she'd spent. Too much, she finally realized, she had somehow put out _too much chakra_.

And that was more frustrating than she'd liked to admit. She was a _master_ at chakra control, she'd been told so by plenty of people, so how had she suddenly started overusing?

A different test, she decided. She went through a couple of hand signals to create a basic clone. It popped into existence perfectly on her bed, looking just like her, and...no tingling, no overuse of chakra. Nothing.

Sakura frowned. She went through the signs of her sensing jutsu again, and then once again a wave of impossibly heavy signal reached her. She winced, pain coursing through her head as she tried to process. So it wasn't her chakra control that had been affected, but...her _sensing_ jutsu?

Sakura cursed out loud. As if she didn't have enough mysteries on her hands at the moment, now her sensing jutsu wasn't working right, and the only clue she had was that it had something to do with what happened with Itachi. But there were workarounds for this. Too much chakra? Then maybe if she just…

Sakura went through the hand signs _again_, but this time she held her chakra back. Only a trickle this time, maybe a fifth of what was required…

The world seemed to light up around her, but instead of a blinding signal, it was tempered. More like she was used to. She sensed a presence a floor beneath her, several in the buildings around her, and as she concentrated she could make out signals further out into the village. A couple hundred feet out, perhaps. It would take time to get used to, but essentially whatever had happened had just made it so she needed _less_ chakra to use the sensing jutsu.

It was completely illogical. Her other jutsu had required the same amount. What kind of side effect altered her experience with _one_ jutsu and nothing else?

But maybe it was a blessing. Less chakra needed meant more times she could use it. And if she had time to experiment a little...she could figure out the precise amount of chakra she could use on the jutsu before it blinded her. Maybe she could sense _further_. She could definitely sense more. Never before had she been able to sense chakra in civilians or trees or _water_. She wasn't even sure water was supposed to _have_ chakra. She certainly hadn't read about it, the Academy hadn't taught it, and yet…

And yet.

Sakura took a deep breath and allowed herself to lay back down on her pillow. She didn't have enough information, and letting herself dwell on mysteries was a good distraction from her nightmares, but poor for her mind overall. She could instead let herself be excited. Today was the day she'd get a final checkup from the healers, and if all was well they'd begin the journey to Konoha. She was going _home_.

_(And home had Danzo and Root and the chuunin exams and convincing more Kage to join the pact and-)_

Alright, so thinking of the general concept of home wasn't the best idea either. She needed something more specific. Something happy that no anxious thought or worry could intrude upon.

And then Sakura realized, all at once, that today was her _birthday_.

She shot up from her bed with a start. It was frightening how easily she'd forgotten such an important event. She was _fourteen years old_ today. She'd survived another year, and not only that, she'd become an _ambassador_. She didn't know many fourteen year olds from Konoha that had her traveling experience or her current privileges. Sure, Naruto was training under the Hokage and Sasuke had Orochimaru, but she'd had the Tsuchikage and what she was starting to call the 'traveling school of hard knocks'. She'd helped out in a shinobi rebellion. She'd taken down demons. Faced down fucking _Itachi Uchiha_ and lived to tell about it. She was fourteen years old today and she had done _most_ these things in the past year.

That was something to smile about. Maybe some of those things had been difficult, but looking at all of the good things she'd accomplished, how could she complain? And not only had she started the Neutrality Project, but she had companions now, companions who believed in _her_.

As if on cue, both Gaara and Sai hopped in through her window, Emi scuttling along in behind them.

And...Sai had a massive black eye.

"S-Sai?" Sakura pushed herself out of bed, wobbly but able to stand. "What the hell happened? Did you get attacked by someone here?"

It was clear the boys hadn't expected her to be awake. She saw both visibly startle, looking her way and then…

Gaara looked sheepish, and even Sai was beginning to have _some_ sort of expression on his face, which was saying something.

"Gaara and I had a disagreement." Sai spoke up. "We worked it out."

"_Are you telling me Gaara punched you in the eye_?"

"I said we worked it out. I was clearly in the wrong."

Sakura shot Gaara a look, and Gaara couldn't meet her eyes. Well, they'd worked it out if they weren't still fighting now, but Sakura couldn't just excuse these two fighting over…

"What even were you disagreeing _on_?"

There was a moment of silence. Gaara looked over to Sai, Sai looked over to Gaara.

"...I asked him how long he planned on dragging his pet rat around and he told me if I called it a rat again that I'd regret it."

Sai suddenly had one of his fake smiles on, and Sakura noticed Emi let out a small hiss at the mention of the phrase 'rat'. Gaara still wasn't meeting her eyes. So, either embarrassed about losing his temper, or…

Sakura frowned. "I don't like being lied to."

"It's not a lie." Sai countered. "I did call her a rat and I do regret it."

"...you both are hopeless."

There would be no dragging a real answer out of them, but Sai was missing enough tact that Sakura could almost _believe_ he'd somehow pushed Gaara to that point. Gaara was very fond of his tanuki friend. Either way, if it wasn't the truth, it seemed as though Sakura wasn't going to drag the answer out of them.

She sighed before making her way to Sai, reaching out to gently touch at his face. The boy flinched at first, but eventually settled.

"It's bad." Sakura commented. "I wouldn't piss off Gaara, alright? He's got all that sand on his body, so his punches land like rocks. Let's go to the healers. They can patch you up and give me my final check up."

"...right."

"And Gaara?"

Sakura turned to her friend, who definitely was showing the proper amount of shame for giving his comrade a black eye. Compared to the Gaara she'd first met...it was growth, in a way. The Gaara from her chuunin exam wouldn't have batted an eye at causing someone pain.

"Apologize, please." Sakura insisted, her voice gentle. "I don't want there to be any bad blood between us going forward. We have enough problems to deal with already. I know Sai has a hard time holding his tongue, but that's no excuse to hurt him like this."

"...sorry." Gaara mumbled. It wasn't perfect, but a start was better than nothing.

"And Sai? You should apologize too. Emi means a lot to Gaara."

Sai turned to Gaara, that same emotionless smile on his face. "I'm sorry I call your rat a rat. I'll be sure to lie about it in the future."

Sakura saw Gaara twitch a little, but the situation thankfully didn't escalate. Sakura thwapped Sai on the shoulder with her hand. The boy still had a lot to learn, it seemed, but for now…

A start was a start.

* * *

In the end, eight Taki shinobi left the village with Sakura and her companions.

Shibuki, of course, was there, along with four shinobi that he trusted with his life. They had decided upon taking one singular team to compete in the chuunin exams, consisting of Fuu and two others, Kegon and Yoro. Both of Fuu's teammates were already high ranking by village standards, but the exams weren't about promotions for the Taki shinobi. They were about proving Taki's strength, and sharing knowledge of demons with the other villages. For Fuu in particular, the exams were a show and she was the star.

It would be all of the Taki shinobi's first time out of the Taki borders. Sakura would have gone as far as to consider it a historic event. Regardless of whether or not the pact continued to go well, this was the first time in several generations that Taki had allowed interaction with other villages at _all_.

It was also the safest Sakura had ever felt while traveling. Even if a demon did show up, or if a bandit was stupid enough to challenge them, they'd be dealing with a grand total of a dozen shinobi, all of whom were competent and fully prepared to defend their precious comrades. There was no need to take shifts; as head ambassador, the others insisted she get her rest. (And Sakura couldn't help but wonder if they were worried that she hadn't yet fully healed.)

It was a week long journey to Konoha, which gave her plenty of time to speak freely with Shibuki about things she hadn't yet found the time to discuss. Akatsuki was foremost on his mind after her and Fuu's run-in, which was an excellent segue into the only other member that Sakura hadn't been able to investigate yet: Kakuzu.

Kakuzu had worn a Taki headband, so Sakura had been able to deduce he'd been from the village. But upon mention of the name, Shibuki had first reacted with confusion.

"Kakuzu? That shinobi's still _alive_?"

"Either that or someone else with a Taki headband is going around by his name."

"That's...unfortunate." Shibuki had glanced towards his fellow shinobi at the mention, worry growing on his face. "Kakuzu was a shinobi under Taki decades ago. We had...ordered him to assassinate Hashirama Senju after our negotiations had failed, in the hope that the Bijuu might be set free without Hashirama to subdue them. Kakuzu failed and was punished, but...he retaliated, killing many of our elders and stealing away with several of our prized technique scrolls. We'd heard he'd moved to mercenary life but...to think he would still be alive…"

Someone who'd been ordered to assassinate the first Hokage. Such a shinobi was definitely powerful, and if even _Taki _didn't know what Kakuzu had up his sleeve, then certainly nobody else would. Sakura would be in the dark about that member of Akatsuki for now.

She would talk with Shibuki a lot, mostly about Taki traditions, sometimes about the legend of Kaguya. But perhaps the most important part of their journey had been the first night, and it had not been with Shibuki at all.

As they had settled in for camp, Gaara already offering first watch, Kakashi came to her once everyone else had begun to doze. He sat down next to her, and for once that book of his was nowhere in sight.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Maa, well...it's your birthday, isn't it?"

Sakura was stunned. She didn't remember telling Kakashi when her birthday was, and for him to remember it was even more of a shock. She just nodded, and that was all it took for Kakashi to pull something out.

"Well, I thought maybe…well, I've never been very good at this sort of thing."

He pressed something into her hands. It was a kunai, but not like one she'd ever seen before. This kunai had a three-pronged blade, and wrapped around the hilt was a cloth, on which were written symbols she had never seen before. It looked worn, but still oddly beautiful.

"What is-"

"It belonged to my teacher." Kakashi explained. "Minato-sensei...he gave it to me to celebrate my becoming a jounin. He told me, as long as I kept the blade, I would never be alone." He scratched the back of his head while he talked, chuckling. "Well, what I didn't know at the time was that he used these kunai for his Flying Thunder God technique. He used these kunai as an anchor point to teleport to. But now that he's not around anymore, it's just a very versatile blade. Still...it's the sentiment that matters, I think."

"As long as I keep it…" Sakura couldn't help but smile as she turned the kunai over in her hand. As she did, Kakashi reached out to put a hand on her head.

"I'm a Konoha shinobi through and through. But you're still my cute student. Next time someone tries to hurt you...you won't be alone."

"...thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

She looked up to meet her sensei's eyes. He looked almost apologetic. Did he feel guilt, perhaps, for not being there when she'd faced Itachi?

Sakura squeezed the kunai tight. Even if it was just sentiment...Kakashi couldn't be there all the time, but what mattered was that he'd be there when he could. He'd come to find her in Iwa, began to teach her like she'd always wanted...Kakashi wasn't perfect, but he was _trying_. And maybe, just maybe, succeeding a little bit.

It wasn't a glamorous birthday, but Sakura felt as though she would always remember it.

As they traveled she often played with the kunai in her hand. It had an odd weight to it that would take getting used to, but she felt that its uniqueness would make for a weapon in combat that not many would expect. It was as she did this that she noticed Sai occasionally glancing at the blade. It was more interest than he usually placed in things, so at their next camp she sat down and showed it to him.

"You keep looking at it. Did you want to see it closer?"

"Not the kunai." Sai admitted. "But...the seals around the hilt. That blade belonged to the Fourth Hokage."

"Yup." Sakura confirmed. "Figures you'd recognize it. Seals are your thing, huh?"

"It wasn't just the Fourth Hokage's technique." Sai reached out, and Sakura handed him the kunai to look at. "The Second used it as well, though his seals were very different. It's said that the Fourth deduced the technique by looked at the Second's seals. He's the only one who has ever been able to master it since."

"Really? I guess they did say the Fourth was a genius." Sakura grinned, leaning forward to watch Sai. "But, you know, you _did_ invent a sealing jutsu all your own. Maybe you could figure this one out!"

"I doubt it. These seals are almost nonsensical. They're nothing like Konoha standard seals. I'd wager a guess that he picked up techniques from the Uzumaki, considering he married one." Sai hesitated, looking up to Sakura. "The Jinchuuriki, Naruto...does he…?"

"Know anything about seals? I doubt it. He didn't know his parents after all, and I don't think they left him anything."

"...I highly doubt that's true. But Konoha might have kept his inheritance from him in an effort to conceal his heritage." Sai handed the kunai back to Sakura, and took on an almost sullen look. "Perhaps, now that he is older, the Hokage might be convinced to allow him his heritage."

"Which means you can ask him for help with the seal." Sakura reached out to poke Sai's shoulder. "You're insidious, you know that? You haven't even _met_ him yet."

"I know. But I should plan ahead for what to say when I meet him, right? Otherwise I might get another black eye." Sai smiled, and there was a hint of genuineness there this time. Sakura couldn't help but laugh at that.

It was on the fourth day that they reached the Konoha border, and there someone was waiting for them. Sakura sensed them before she saw them, having spent the day trying to hone her newly sensitive sensing jutsu.

"Kakashi-sensei...six shinobi ahead."

"Oh." Kakashi smiled. "That would be the Konoha escort for the Taki entourage. I sent a request for them."

"An escort?"

Sakura let herself run ahead. If the Hokage knew she was coming, that would meant that it was likely whatever escort she decided would be…

"SAKURA!"

Sakura saw orange flying towards her, and had just enough time to brace herself as she was enveloped in Naruto's arms. She clung to him tightly, not realizing until now just how much she'd missed him.

"You finally made it!" Naruto squeezed her until she thought she might not have any breath left at all.

"Yup." Sakura agreed with a small gasp. "I'm back, Naruto."


	43. Chapter 43

((AN: I want to thank all you readers for the lovely reception I've gotten here, and all of your comments. As I've mentioned, I am currently on a weekly schedule for SBATC, but I found the time to post a bit early this week. I hope you all continue to enjoy. :) ))

* * *

Naruto filled their time traveling with words, to the point where Sakura was convinced he'd learned how to exist without taking in air. Perhaps it was because they had been apart so long, but Naruto felt the need to tell her _everything_ that she had missed. Not even just what he had been up to, but what Ino had been up to, and Shikamaru and Chouji and Hinata and Kiba and Shino and...well, the list went on. (To the dismay of the InoShikaCho trio who were _also_ along for the journey and, as Ino pointed out, _perfectly_ capable of telling Sakura exactly what they'd each been up to, thank you very much.)

But Naruto's excitement held a bit of nostalgia in Sakura's eyes, and she found it funny that while in the past she might have found Naruto's ranting a bit annoying, at this moment it was the most comforting thing in the world.

At the moment he was discussing his training under Tsunade, and in light of the upcoming chuunin exams, that had expanded beyond the 'Hokage training' that Naruto had been put under in the past.

"She told me that she won't even _think_ of passing me unless my chakra control is better, so she's been making me stand on the side of the Hokage monument while using wind chakra to keep a leaf a meter above my head. Which means I have to blow out wind chakra for a _whole hour_." Naruto lamented as they walked, and it finally dawned on Sakura how Naruto was able to talk in such long bursts now. Had Tsunade realized what she was encouraging by refining his wind jutsu? "It took me two weeks to be able to do it for that long but now she wants me to stand on a _waterfall_ while doing it, and it has to be _exactly_ a meter above my head or else I have to start over! She's brutal, Sakura, I think I'm gonna _die_ before the exams even start!"

Sakura just laughed at this. As much as Naruto grouched, she knew he wouldn't begrudge training that made him stronger, and chakra control was just the area he was lacking. Tsunade was doing right by him.

"Don't even _talk_ Naruto, I'd take the damn waterfall training over what I've got." Ino piped in. "My mom's making sure I build up poison immunity by nearly _killing_ me with them. I've barely been able to keep down _food_ without heaving. Though…" Ino looked down at herself, grinning. "My figure's the best it's ever been, don't you think, Forehead?"

"It's pretty good for a stick, Ino-Pig." Sakura stuck out her tongue. "Haven't you heard? Muscles are the new beautiful."

It was at that moment that Fuu, who had been quiet since the Konoha shinobi arrived, finally found the courage to pipe up. "Yeah!" She exclaimed suddenly, startling both Ino and Naruto as she thrust her way into the conversation. "I mean, look at Pinkie, she could lift a bear and she's _perfect_."

Sakura felt a flush come to her cheeks, and Ino sputtered as she tried to argue back.

"Y-yeah, well, you just haven't seen what a lean, mean, fighting machine can do! I'll just have to show you at the exams you...um…" Ino frowned. "I...don't know your name yet."

"I'm _Fuu_, I'm only the greatest and most powerful kunoichi in _all_ of Taki-"

And then it was Fuu's turn to ramble on. Sakura couldn't help but notice a dismayed look on Shikamaru's face as they walked; the introvert was probably in his own personal hell having three long-winded talkers in his vicinity. Sakura wanted nothing more than to take Shikamaru aside for a chat but...not now. She caught his eye and he gave her a small shrug, but she knew from his glance that he understood.

_Later_.

Behind her walked Gaara and Sai, the former appearing a bit too shy to join in the conversation proper yet, and the latter looking as though he was...taking notes? Sakura let herself slow down enough to peek at the words. Sai had written down the names of every new shinobi in the group, as well as a series of descriptive factors. She noted with a snort that Ino had been jotted down as 'Ino-Pig'. Sai was going to suffer if he called her that but...it was a learning experience, right?

It was when she saw Jiraiya's notes that she held pause. Though her peers had gotten perhaps sillier descriptions, (Shikamaru had been compared to a pineapple), Jiraiya had simply gotten two words: Sannin, dangerous. Sai was working on Asuma now, the jounin in charge of the InoShikaCho squad, and while the word 'stinky' had been written next to the name (referring to the cigarette, perhaps?), Asuma too had a more serious description. Sai was...very good at taking succinct notes. A testament to his time in Root, perhaps, but Sakura was realizing how useful his blunt observations might be for her _own_ situation. Sai could read a room while she was occupied with interacting with it, and he could _definitely_ notice things that she might miss.

She gave Sai a warm smile before turning her attention back to the squabbling in front of her. The conversation had swung from Ino and Fuu competing over the 'most powerful kunoichi' title to Naruto and Fuu getting ready to just throw hands in general. Naruto had always been a sucker for a challenge, and Fuu seemed to get a kick out of riling him up. Could she tell, Sakura wondered, that Naruto held the Kyuubi inside of him? She'd told the Taki shinobi that her old teammate was the Jinchuuriki, but…

Well, either way, it was probably good for both of them to interact. She could tell that Gaara, too, wanted to join in, if only just to have a chance to speak with Naruto for the first time since their own chuunin exams.

There was so much to _do_, and a whole month before the exams were even set to begin. Sakura needed to convince the visiting kage to join her pact, if they hadn't already, and also find a way to aid Shikamaru in taking down Root. Sai wouldn't be free until Root was exposed. _Konoha_ wouldn't be able to move forward until its dark past was ripped into the light. And on top of _all_ of that...Sakura just wanted to see her friends and family again. For all she knew, once the exams were done, it might be the last time she saw them for a long while.

It was a further two days' journey to Konoha's walls, and Sakura had hoped for a stress-free trip. But when Jiraiya approached her during their first night's rest, Sakura felt a pit in her stomach.

_Sannin. Dangerous_.

Jiraiya was Naruto's mentor too, and while that normally would have been enough to put her at ease, now Sakura just felt uncertain. Other than Kakashi and the shinobi her age, she wasn't sure who in Konoha that Root had their claws in. Jiraiya was a known hermit and, by Naruto's claims, a bit of a lecher, but all of that could have been an act to keep his real intentions unknown. She had to tread carefully until the truth was brought to light.

"Hey there, kid." Jiraiya held up a hand in greeting as he came near. "We need to talk, if you don't mind. Just you and me."

Sakura felt Gaara tense at the last part, and she didn't blame him. The last time he'd let her go somewhere without him...well, Jiraiya wasn't Itachi, and Sakura knew that nothing could happen to her here without everyone in their group being aware of it. Sakura gave Gaara's hand a squeeze before standing up. She was an ambassador, damn it all, and she couldn't let herself be afraid of a _talk_.

He took her to a section of the woods that was far enough away that the rest of the camp couldn't hear. There, he sat down on a log with a heavy sigh. Sakura couldn't help but notice that the man seemed...tired. Worn thin. She might have jokingly chalked this up to mentoring Naruto full time, but...this was different.

She sat down on a stump across from him, doing her best to look professional. "What did you want to talk about, sir?"

"Please, just Jiraiya." The man replied with a wave of his hand. "If you're going to take on such a big project, kid, you need to realize that it puts you on the same level as the Kage. Someone like me won't be worth wasting the pleasantries."

"I still feel as though I should respect all I speak with, Jiraiya sir." Sakura pointedly made a note of including the title again. "It would be rude of me to think myself above others."

"A nice sentiment, but there are going to be people who take that as a sign of weakness. You're getting into a game you don't know all the rules to yet." Jiraiya reached into his pocket, pulling out a scroll that looked familiar. _Her_ scroll, Sakura realized, the one she'd had Sai send to Tsunade months ago. It was a breath of relief to know he'd actually sent it; back then, she hadn't been sure. "This stuff on Akatsuki is pretty good." Jiraiya admitted. "But you got lucky that they didn't see you as a threat."

"Luck seems to be my dominant trait lately."

"Well, you're gonna need it, kid." Jiraiya sighed again. "You know...Naruto thinks the world of you. But Konoha? Most are going to see you as a traitor. Tsunade is only tolerating you coming here because you're offering her something more than your life is currently worth. Information. Alliances."

Sakura frowned. "Is there a point to all of this or did you just want to lecture me?"

"I'm _saying_ that I want you to succeed, and you aren't going to unless you figure a couple things out. You've gotten _lucky_ that old man Onoki's lost a few of his fangs, and you've gotten lucky to impress anyone from Taki at _all_. Not even Hashirama managed what you've done here. But now you're walking into a lion's den. Suna is going to be coming to the exams, and it's not just because of social obligation. They want their Jinchuuriki back and they're not going to take no for an answer."

"Gaara…" Sakura glanced to the camp, biting her lip. "Gaara left of his own free will. If he doesn't want to return, Suna can't make him."

"Maybe not. But Suna can absolutely refuse to sign your treaty. You've pissed them off, and there's not going to be a way to luck yourself out of this. What you need to figure out is what to give them that's worth more than Gaara's life, and that's a _big_ life you're gambling with. And right now, Konoha is stuck in the middle. We're allied with Suna, currently, but also tied onto this pact. If Suna doesn't sign on, that screws _us_ over too. Do you think Suna is going to stay aligned to someone who supports the theft of their Jinchuuriki?" Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "If you, and I mean _you_, don't sort this out...it could mean war."

Sakura swallowed. She hadn't considered yet how Suna would react to the pact. She hadn't really been considering Suna at _all_. And not only that...she could be putting her home in jeopardy if she failed.

Out of habit, her hand went up to touch her amulet. She'd gotten lucky before. This time...this time everything was on her.

_But something is looking after me. Something I don't understand yet. Something that...didn't want me to suffer Itachi's Sharingan. _

Things didn't happen for no reason. Something _saved_ her, and she wasn't going to be saved just to fail at the next step.

"I understand, Jiraiya." Sakura replied. "I will take care with my interactions with Suna, and I will do my best to ensure a satisfactory conclusion for all involved."

"...well, you listen a bit better than Naruto does, at least." Jiraiya seemed less tense with her proclamation. "And for all our sakes, I hope your luck holds out." He stood up, pocketing her scroll again as he did. "Also...don't think I haven't noticed that amulet of yours. It seems rather similar to the one you described our Akatsuki friend wearing."

Sakura flushed at this. "...h-he gave it to me. As I mentioned in the report, there seems to be a group that venerates the same god, and this amulet is their symbol. If I wear it, it's possible I'll be able to approach them and learn more about Hidan's abilities."

Jiraiya chuckled at this. "Well, you've certainly planned things out. But keep this in mind, alright?" He met her eyes, and Sakura felt a twinge of fear as the man stared her down. "If I think you're going to do anything that threatens Konoha, either through this treaty or anything else, I won't hesitate. Even against a kid like you."

"...I know you won't, Jiraiya sir."

* * *

Sakura stayed close to Gaara and Sai after that. What had once felt like a relieving trip home now felt like she was walking into a web of trip wire. One wrong move could start a war. One wrong move could lead to Sai's death, or even her own. One wrong move and everything fell apart.

She spent her time trying to distract herself. She almost felt jealous seeing Naruto interact with the InoShikaCho trio, but in the same thought she felt an overwhelming joy for Naruto. Team Seven...she had deluded herself into thinking that Team Seven had camaraderie, but it was _nothing_ compared to what Naruto had found here. Even sullen Shikamaru seemed drawn to Naruto's energy, and the team seemed to gravitate around him, no matter the context. Sakura didn't miss that Ino seemed to always be looking Naruto's way, even when he wasn't paying attention to her. Did Ino still think about Sasuke, she wondered, or perhaps…

Naruto had grown several inches since she'd seen him last, and while his outfit still held traces of his favorite obnoxious orange, he'd since traded in for something a bit more battle practical. His longer coat reminded her a bit of Tsunade's style, and Sakura saw now that he kept not just kunai, but medicinal pouches and scrolls on his person. And with his hair a bit more grown out, Sakura could definitely see his resemblance to the late Fourth Hokage.

Had Jiraiya told him of his heritage yet? Sakura wasn't sure, but she _did_ know that Naruto would know about his birthright before she had to leave Konoha again, even if she had to tell him herself.

Regardless, Naruto wasn't exactly a boy anymore. He was a teenager in full now, and though at times he appeared a bit too gangly for his own body to sort out, he was still growing up. They _all _were.

Eventually, around midday of their sixth day of travel from Taki, they reached the Konoha gates.

Sakura saw familiar shinobi, patrolling, manning the gates...and while they put on a pleasant air, Sakura couldn't help but notice that their smiles faltered when they saw her. Even more painful to witness was the old team that Tsunade had assigned her to, back before she'd left the village. They didn't even bother hiding their contempt.

Traitor indeed. Jiraiya had been right. Being here wasn't going to be pleasant. Konoha was a village known for its bonds, and she had broken them. Even if it _was_ for a good cause…

Sakura felt herself inching even closer to Gaara as they walked to the Hokage's tower. No one would attack her while she was here, she was certain of that, but Sakura still couldn't help but be afraid.

Shibuki went to speak with Tsunade first, and for that Sakura was grateful. It was a small delay for her to gather her inner strength for facing the Hokage. Kakashi would be with her, and that was a comfort as well, but Jiraiya had said it himself: Tsunade only tolerated her now because she was more useful as she was than a dead missing-nin.

Eventually, the time came, and with a shaky breath Sakura made her way into the Hokage's office.

"Sakura Haruno."

"Lady Tsunade."

Sakura made sure to bow in the Hokage's presence. Respect here was paramount. "Thank you for receiving me, and for the esc-"

"Oh, cut the crap, Haruno, and sit down."

Sakura flinched, but quickly sat. Tsunade didn't look _angry_, per say, but she didn't exactly look pleased to see her either. For a moment, the two sat in silence. Gaara took a place at her side, but Sai stayed in the shadows by the wall, looking as though he'd rather not be seen.

And then, finally, Tsunade spoke.

"I suppose it'd be hypocritical of me to be angry with you."

"N-no, no, I think you're well within your right."

"I was twenty-five when I left Konoha, Haruno. A several decade sabbatical, one that was definitely not approved by the Hokage at the time. But whereas I went and drank and gambled myself into obscurity, you left and somehow convinced Iwa and Taki that inter-village relations might be worth pursuing. I'm angry, Haruno, but I can't _stay_ angry. Not yet, anyway. If you leaving the village means never having to have another war again, then as far as I'm concerned, you're the best shinobi to ever leave this place. But…"

"But we're not there yet." Sakura finished for her.

"But we're not there yet." Tsunade agreed. "And because we're not there yet, I can make sure you know what a foolishly lucky _idiot_ you've been, running off on your own. You are a _child_. This responsibility should _not_ be on your shoulders."

"But the responsibility of being a genin can be?" Sakura countered. "Kakashi was a jounin at my age, Lady Tsunade-"

"And it wasn't _right_."

Sakura blinked. This...wasn't the direction she'd expected this conversation to go.

"I'll support your treaty, Haruno. I'll sign it in full, myself, now that you're here. But I will only continue to support you on two conditions."

Sakura hastily pulled out a scroll to write. Conditions, of course, conditions…

"The first is that you will work to an an inter-village agreement that all future genin must be eighteen years or older before allowing to participate in war activities or any mission rank above D."

Eighteen? It seemed so _old_, considering that she'd been a genin for two whole years now. "Why eighteen specifically?" She asked. "Why not seventeen or nineteen?"

"Because I have sufficient evidence through my years of medical study and my work with the Yamanaka's on psychology that one's brain continues to develop long into one's twenties. But around the age of eighteen, most begin to learn the maturity needed to properly approach higher ranked mission. It is my belief that allowing our children more time to grow and develop will lead to lower mortality rates in both war and peacetime, as well as better stability in shinobi that survive to later adulthood." Tsunade leaned forward, looking more serious than Sakura had ever seen her. "I'm tired seeing children being broken by war, Haruno. I'm tired and I'm _done_. Whether or not this is implemented into your pact, I will be moving to implement it here. My soldiers won't be children. My soldiers won't _fight_ children. If you push for this, you will have my full support."

Sakura could be sympathetic to the thought. Convincing the other villages, however…

"Well, Lady Tsunade, through the tenants of the pact, we can put forth motions to be added as addendums. However, these addendums must be agreed upon through popular vote. You talked about having sufficient evidence, so I would recommend putting this evidence together so that we can present it to the other Kage. However, with that in mind…" Sakura met Tsunade's gaze, determined. "I will put forth this proposal yearly until the other villages comply and allow the amendment to be added."

"Good." Tsunade nodded. "And now for my second condition."

"Right…"

"I want you to establish a medical division among your ambassadors, Haruno. And I want this medical division to compile knowledge from every country to be publicly available to anyone who requires it."

"Oh." Sakura felt relief. This request...this was easier. "Well, while I cannot force any village to share medical knowledge with me, I can still meet this requirement without much hassle. Until I have more ambassadors to fully dedicate to the role, I can take on this request personally and start a repository for any knowledge you are willing to share. I will make it known that anyone who approaches me will have free access to it."

"I find that acceptable." Tsunade replied. "Give that pact over, I'll get the damn thing signed. If you're going to start a fire, Haruno, we'd better make it a big one."

* * *

Sakura didn't stay with Tsunade for much longer. She was tired from the journey, and more importantly had somewhere important to go before she addressed anything else.

"Stay close to Gaara and me." She warned Sai as they walked. "Actually, I think it's best if you don't leave our view while we're here, okay? I'm a bit worried."

"Only a bit?" Sai retorted. "You might be underestimating the situation."

Sakura stuck her tongue out before continuing to walk. "Listen, everything you're worried about right now isn't going to even _compare_ to what we're about to walk into. So _please_, Sai, try not to say anything that will get you killed. In fact, just let me do most of the talking, alright?"

"...and what are we about to walk into?"

"Well." Sakura swallowed, turning a familiar corner until a certain house was in sight. It was achingly familiar, and Sakura had never been more nervous, even when facing down _Kage_.

"This is my house." Sakura told them. "And the two of you are about to meet my mom and dad."


	44. Alekhine (Intermission Part Eight)

"What? A revolution?"

The pale-haired boy looked back and forth between Sasuke and Karin. Sasuke had let Karin do the talking of course; he wasn't really one for charismatic talks anyway, and it was really Karin who was the brains of this operation regardless. Every time Orochimaru slinked out of hearing range, times that were few and far between, he and Karin worked to pull in another person to their side. Suigetsu was a bit of a wild card. He'd been captured by Orochimaru and used for experimentation, and even now the boy was kept in a sealed water tank, unable to leave without the seal's removal.

"If that means I get to cut that bastard snake up, sure. But then you'll probably just stick me back in the tank once you're done, won't you?" Suigetsu gave Karin a grin.

"Not at all." Karin shook her head. "The plan is simply to ensure your freedom when hell breaks loose, with the promise that you won't harm any of our people. After that, you go where you please."

"And what if I wanna cut you up too, huh? You've done just as much damage to people like me as the snake has."

Karin glanced at Sasuke. Sasuke in turn looked to Suigetsu. He activated his Sharingan, and with a small push of his thumb moved the blade of his sword slightly out from his sheath.

Suigetsu laughed.

"Ah, so you'll sic your dog on me? Priceless, but at least you've got a contingency plan."

"A future Otokage has to be prepared." Karin retorted. "I've even got a little something extra for you that'll whet your appetite. You help us out with this revolution, and I'll point you in the direction of something _real_ nice."

This, Sasuke had not heard from her yet. He turned to her, as confused as Suigetsu. He saw a smile spread across Karin's face.

"What if I told you I could point you in the direction of the Samehada?"

...oh, that was _good_. Even Sasuke could admit that. Karin wasn't just pulling Suigetsu to her side, she was fulfilling her end of the bargain to _him_.

Itachi had last been seen in the company of the rogue Kisame Hoshigaki. Sasuke remembered seeing the monster of a sword in that shinobi's hands...and if Suigetsu wanted Samehada, he could be a distraction. Keep Kisame off his back while he approached Itachi. Karin really was a clever girl.

And Suigetsu had taken the bait. His smug look had transformed to one of interest, and he leaned forward in the water, now very serious. "Listen, Uzumaki. You point me in the direction of that sword and I'll do whatever your little heart desires. I'll be the one to unite the seven swords of Kiri once again. _That_ is a promise."

"Unite them?" Sasuke spoke up. "...so you would want the Kubikiribocho, would you not?"

"Well, _duh_, Uchiha, that's what uniting them _means_!"

"Then you'll get the blade, once Karin is Otokage. Then, if you still desire Samehada, I shall lead you to it. Our goals will align." Sasuke pressed an open hand against the glass. They could not shake hands, but this was the next best thing. "I will swear if you do."

Suigetsu did not hesitate. His hand also pressed the glass, mirroring Sasuke.

"Better keep that promise. Just when will this little revolution be anyway?"

"Not soon." Karin explained. "We have much to do. But when the time comes…" She pulled out a violet bandanna, making a show of wrapping it around her arm. "Our people will be wearing these. You got that? No chopping up anyone on our side."

"Fine, fine. No chopping purple. But you know...Orochi's not stupid. He's probably already aware you're up to something."

"I know. In fact, I'm counting on it." Karin insisted. "But I've got a trump card. While Orochimaru's dealing with the threat he thinks is in front of him...he misses something obvious right next to him. Don't you even worry."

Sasuke wasn't sure what Karin's trump card was, but as the two of them left Suigetsu's chamber, she did not seem to lose any of her confidence. She was sure of herself, which meant Sasuke had to be too.

The day was coming. The day where he would be strong enough to face his brother. But before that…

Kabuto had told him that Sakura had aided a rebellion in the newly dubbed Land Hidden in Plains. And Sasuke was never one to let anyone show him up.

* * *

"Sakura Haruno has arrived, sir. Along with the traitor."

Danzo did not look from his papers. This was typical for him. His agents would often give dozens of reports throughout the day, and if he was too distracted from his other workings by said reports, he'd never finish anything. This news, specifically, did not come as a surprise to him. He had known for several days now that the newly dubbed 'Shinobi Ambassador' would be arrive within the village walls, along with the agent she had wrestled away from him. Her arrival was simply one step of many in his plans.

"Estimated time for others?"

"Sunagakure's shinobi will be arriving in eight days. Iwa will arrive in ten, and the new Plains in similar time. Kusa and Tani will arrive in two weeks time. Ame is yet unconfirmed. Kumo has declined Konoha's invitation, and Kiri is likely still in upheaval, so they are not expected to arrive."

"You are dismissed."

The agent left, as silently as he had arrived. Two weeks, then, until everyone had arrived. Two weeks to ensure every piece was in place.

There was much to do, so much to do, always so much. But for Konoha?

Danzo would do anything.

* * *

In the darkness of his room, Shikamaru moved pieces on a dusty board. With near silent taps, he pushed piece after piece into place. He did not stop until each side was set up in starting position.

The starting positions, however, were not equal. That was not how this game had begun.

The opposing side had gotten a plethora of time to set up their pieces. To some, the game might have seemed decided from the start.

But Shikamaru wouldn't give up this game so easily.

He moved a single piece on his side of the board. It might be some time before he could move a piece again. All of the pieces had not yet arrived. In a small box next to the board, the remaining pieces waited.

There was still time. And Shikamaru had one advantage that the enemy did not.

He was aware of all of the pieces on the board.

The enemy was not.


	45. Chapter 45

If Sakura had to decide which of her two parents she'd gotten her personality from, without a doubt she would have said her father.

It was Kizashi himself who answered the door, and the silence was over in a split second as he called out her name and pulled her into a bear hug that threatened to crack open her spine. Sakura was grateful for Gaara's restraint. She knew the boy was defensive, and through her father's arms she saw floating sand around her at the ready, held back only by Gaara's realization that she wasn't, in fact, in danger.

"H-hey Dad…" Sakura managed to wheeze. "Good to see you too."

"You are in _so_ much trouble, young lady!" Kizashi pulled away so he could look Sakura in the eyes, and though his tone was angry, Sakura could see genuine relief on his face. "Leaving the village with a note like that, how could you _do_ this to your father? I've been worried _sick_!"

"I'm sorry…" Sakura winced, already prepared for the lecture that was to come, and boy _did it_. Her father had quite the set of lungs on him, and once he got started the lecture didn't stop. And Sakura knew what to expect. Worrying her mother sick, wondering where she was, wondering if she was alive or dead…

Sakura stole a glance behind her, curious what the boys were thinking. Gaara looked confused, but Sai looked...curious. Sakura wondered if Sai even knew who his own parents were. And Gaara, of course...never known his mother, and with the way his father treated him…

Did either of them know what a family was supposed to be like?

"_Dad_!" Sakura interjected. "I can take the lecture later, but I brought guests, you know? Can we at least take this inside?"

"And I swear if you ever pull this a-" Kizashi halted, blinking as he looked over Sakura's shoulder. "...you brought guests? Well why didn't you say so earlier! Get them on in here, we'll show them the Haruno hospitality!"

Kizashi swung the front door wide open, gesturing for them to come inside. Sakura let the boys in first, hesitating at the entrance. Her father had stopped too, briefly looking towards the nearby houses. Sakura heard one window snap shut, and then another.

"Dad…"

"Inside, little Shimi. We'll talk later."

The house was as she remembered it: lined with bookshelves, all handmade by her father. Her mother had been the one to fill most of them. There were books on more subjects than Sakura had ever had the time to read: carpentry, architecture, cooking, sewing, politics, philosophy...her father called her a bookworm, but it was her mother who'd earned the title long before she'd ever been born. Her mother was the head of the public library, meant for civilian use. Sakura had been surrounded by books since before she'd known how to walk. Coming back to this, seeing the rows and rows of pages..._this_ was what home was to her.

"We haven't touched your bedroom." Kizashi admitted, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We knew it was only a matter of time before you came home. Just never expected you to go off so far. _Earth_ country, Sakura, really?"

"Yup." Sakura grinned. "I have a lot to tell you about."

"Wait 'til your mother gets home. Guess I'll be making dinner for five tonight!"

* * *

Sakura knew better than to interfere when her father had reign of the kitchen, and if they were going to be staying here a while, she needed to figure out living arrangements. Gaara didn't need a bed, but Sai definitely would...and there was a part of her that worried about leaving him in a room alone, even if he was technically protected under the neutrality pact. She led them upstairs, rummaging in a small closet along the way until she found an inflatable mattress. Once upon a time, when Ino used to stay the night, she'd use it so she had a place to sleep. It would do for Sai, Sakura supposed.

Her room was untouched, as her father had claimed. Neatly organized, bed made, and a picture of Team Seven still in its primary spot on her dresser. There was a bit of dust on the frame, and Sakura lingered long enough to dust it off with her hand. Naruto had grown almost a foot since the picture had been taken, and she'd probably grown as well. And Sasuke...she could only wonder.

"So that's the Uchiha?"

Sakura turned at the sound of Sai's voice. He was looking over her shoulder, frowning.

"Doesn't look like much to me."

"I wouldn't be so cocky." Sakura chuckled. "He was one of the strongest shinobi I knew before he left the village. Now that he's trained under Orochimaru, who knows how strong he's become?"

"So what?" Sai shrugged. "You've trained under the Tsuchikage. He's trained under the Otokage. Doesn't make him special. Just means he probably knows how to throw some snakes around."

Sakura frowned. "You know, Sai, I could say the same about your people skills. You better watch your mouth around my parents, okay?"

Sai put on one of his fake smiles. "Grumpy's right. You're still touchy about him, aren't you?"

Sakura gently punched the boy's arm. "Idiot. He was my teammate."

"Oh? Then what does that make us?" Sai rubbed his arm. "You were part of that team for five months. You've been with Gaara for more than half a year at least, if not close to a whole. Me, about just as long. But it's not very long at all. Not really. Yet you're willing to throw your life on the line for each of us. Isn't it strange, getting attached to someone like that so quickly?"

"What, are you saying you'd rather I'd let Root have their way with you? And you're one to talk, you know." Sakura poked Sai in the chest, accusingly. "You're the one who decided to join up with us."

"...yes. And it's certainly strange."

His eyes flickered towards the window, and Sakura's followed suit. There was nothing there, just a few trees and the roofs of houses...but perhaps that's not what Sai saw. Root were elite shinobi, and Sakura was more than certain that several sets of eyes would be kept on her from the moment she set foot in the village until the moment she left. Now that she looked at Sai, she could see a small hint of fear and worry in his eyes.

One misstep, and Sai's life was on the line. He wasn't just accusing her of being clingy...he was questioning _himself_. Questioning his own decision to break away from the only thing he'd ever known...questioning if he'd make it out of Konoha alive.

Sakura reached out, this time gently putting her hand over Sai's own. "Strange isn't bad." She told him, forcing a smile. "Every great shinobi has been a little off beat from everyone else. You don't make waves unless you're a bit strange!" Her grin became more genuine as she thought of Naruto, as strange as you could get at times. Boisterous, mischievous, always clad in orange...he wasn't exactly what came to mind when one thought of a shinobi. But Naruto was going to be one of the greats, of that Sakura had no doubt.

Sai looked downwards, not meeting Sakura's eyes. He still looked worried, to be sure, but...there was something else there, something Sakura couldn't quite put a finger on. But he didn't pull away from her touch, so perhaps she'd said something right.

Once her backpack was set down and her weapons unpacked, Sakura made her way back towards the stairs. She found Gaara there, looking at the portraits of her family that lined the wall. He had a hand out, touching the side of one of the frames.

"Gosh, that one's so old!" Sakura chuckled as she looked. That particular picture, she'd been six years old. Her parents were holding her up in front of the academy, her very first day. Sakura had been grinning like a loon. Neither of her parents had been capable of becoming shinobi, their chakra reserves too small. But Sakura had made the cut. The first of the Harunos to be capable of joining. "I look a bit like a dork, don't I? But I guess I was just a kid."

"It looks...nice."

It clicked all at once, and Sakura grinned slyly. "We'll get a picture taken while we're here, alright? My parents have a camera. We can sit out back under the trees for a nice background."

Gaara looked like a happy child at the mention of that, and Sakura couldn't help but giggle in excitement. The first photograph since…

Well, since Team Seven.

Sakura's smile faltered. Was it strange that she felt guilty? Naruto had been so eager to see her, but really, after all this time...he was more a part of Team Ten then he ever had been part of Seven. And now, much like Sai had said...she'd spent more time with him and Gaara than she'd spent with Naruto and Sasuke. It was almost like they'd been replaced.

The thought weighed heavy on her mind as they made their way downstairs to the dining room, just in time to see her mother arrive. Mebuki Haruno was far more reserved than her husband in demeanor, and instead of accosting her, she simply came and put a warm hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Was it a good trip, Sakura?"

And maybe she _had_ replaced Team Seven...and maybe that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe, just maybe there hadn't been much of Team Seven left to salvage. She hadn't lost Naruto or Kakashi, she'd simply shifted her goals. And she'd _gained_ Gaara and Sai. No, she shouldn't feel guilt over that. She doubted Naruto felt guilty. He would have simply told her to do what she thought was right.

"Yes." Sakura answered with a smile. "I'd say it was pretty good."

* * *

"So you're the Kazekage's son? _Ha_, I knew my girl was making friends in high places." Kizashi laughed heartily over his meal, and he reached out a hand to pat Gaara's back, completely missing the thin layer of sand that shielded Gaara from the touch. "Course, Suna's got a new Kazekage from what I hear. We're supposed to see them at the upcoming exams, I think."

"There's many village Kage coming this year." Mebuki added. "I believe it is because of you, Sakura. They are curious about the treaty."

"Well, I guess that's good. It means I won't have to travel to them. Do you know everyone who's coming, Mom?"

"I hear rumors at the library. They say Ame's new kage is going to be coming. No one knows who that is either, not since Hanzo's death."

"So...lots of surprises." Sakura groaned. "The last thing I need while I'm here. Mom, if you can find out anything at all…"

"You know I'll tell you." Mebuki gave a curt nod. "And, who is the other boy you've brought to the table?"

"Oh, that's Sai!" Sakura looked nervously over at Sai, daring to send a prayer to Jashin that he wouldn't say anything weird. "He's, ah, another shinobi from here in Konoha, but he's joined up with me as an ambassador."

"It's good to meet you." Sai put on one of his trademark fake smiles. "Your home is…"

Sakura held her breath. Sai paused, for about a moment too long. He was thinking, what would he _say_…

"...average."

The table was quiet. Sakura noted that her father was mid bite, and Gaara looked as though he was going to knock Sai across the table.

"Hmm." Mebuki answered cooly. "Said well by someone who embodies the word."

Sakura spit her drink. She'd forgotten how slick her mother could be with her words. It seemed to catch Sai off guard, but he recovered quickly.

"I like your mother." He said simply. "She knows how to act normally."

Sakura groaned. Now Sai was just going to be encouraged. But...it wasn't the worst thing he could have said. Maybe, little by little, he was improving.

* * *

Sakura found herself outside watching the sunset after dinner. Mebuki had already wrestled the boys into helping clean up, though secretly she knew that her mother was just trying to give her and her father some time alone. Kizashi didn't take long to come sit outside next to her, a long pipe in hand. Sakura still hated the smell of smoke, but she'd given up convincing him out of the habit a long time ago.

"They're a little strange, those boys, but they'll do." Kizashi commented, taking a long, deep breath of the night air. "As long as they keep my little girl safe, that is. But it sounds like you've become a capable shinobi in your own right."

"I've certainly tried." Sakura admitted. "As the first Haruno shinobi, I have to make a statement, right?"

"You've...definitely done that." Kizashi's eyes narrowed. "They talk about you, you know. All the neighbors. The shinobi that pass through."

"...oh."

Sakura remembered the glare of the shinobi at the gate. Were the civilians, too, thinking of her so poorly? Did rumors spread so quickly?

"We're the parents of a traitor to the village." Kizashi continued. "They don't understand what you're up to, I don't think. You need to watch yourself. We hear things, your mother and I. Half the village thinks you're going to see the village to its downfall. Or that you really did take after your old teammate."

"I'm doing this for _peace_."

"And you know better than anyone that shinobi politics have led to plenty of wars in the past, little Shimi. Civilians suffer when shinobi go to war. We're caught in the crossfire. Only time will convince them that your treaty is for the greater good."

"And what do you think, Dad?" Sakura looked to her father, desperate. "Do you...do you think it's a lost cause too?"

"Course not. My little girl's the one running it. Bookwork and papers...that's always how you excelled at the academy. Fighting was never your strong suit, it was _knowledge_. Mebuki's the only one who can run that library because she can keep track of hundreds of issues at once. You're her daughter. Your mind is your weapon." He put a hand on her head, grinning from ear to ear. "I don't care what those idiots next door think. You're my pride and joy, that didn't change even when you left home. I always knew you left for a good reason."

Sakura smiled. Her parents had always been supportive, that much was true, but hearing the words was a confirmation she'd needed.

"I'll be in the basement, little Shimi. Do you want to lend me a hand?"

It had been well over a year since Sakura had helped her father with his woodworking. Ever since she'd become a shinobi, she'd always come home too exhausted. A part of her wanted to help him now but...she had time, and for now there was too much to think about.

"Tomorrow, maybe? Once I've had a good rest."

"I'll save you some work then." Her father rustled her hair one last time before leaving her alone.

From there, it was quiet, with only the rustling of the leaves to keep her company. Her family's backyard had always been a peaceful place to study. Sakura had fond memories of her mother reading to her under the large tree in the back, and memories still of her and Ino planting flower seeds, with Ino telling her each one's meaning as they grew in. Her childhood had been a pleasant one, all things considered.

How tragic to think that so many people precious to her hadn't been given that luxury. And how many more wouldn't get to experience that peace, having been forced into war at an early age? Having been made into Jinchuuriki, pulled into Root?

Sakura's fist clenched tight. She hadn't come home for a nice reprieve. She had two missions now, and she couldn't let herself get distracted.

As if on cue, Sakura felt something. Energy, approaching her at a rapid pace. She closed her eyes, focusing on her sensing jutsu. Yes, that sort of energy was unmistakably-

Orange landed in front of her, and a sloppy grin. "Sakura, Sakura!" Naruto tried to whisper, but his voice still held excitement. "Come on, you gotta go! We're all meeting up at Shikamaru's!"

"Shika's?" Sakura blinked, then looked back towards the house. "They can come too, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I think he said they could. Gaara and...um…" Naruto paused for a moment, thinking. "...Tai?"

"Sai." Sakura corrected him gently. "Naruto, you need to get better at remembering names if you're going to be the Hokage, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, Granny's always telling me." Naruto crossed his arms with a frown. Then, he suddenly held his hand out, pretending to write on it with one finger. "She showed me this thing that helps though! She says if you write a name on your hand three times then you never forget it!"

"Oh really?" Sakura couldn't help but smile at that. Tsunade had got Naruto figured out: Naruto learned better by doing. By combining action with the memorization...of _course_ he'd remember things more easily.

"Sai, Sai, Sai…"

"What do you want?"

Naruto flinched as Sai appeared next to him. "A-ah, I didn't want you! I was just trying to, um-"

"Is my name so difficult to remember? Hmm. So you're...Brainless." Sai gave Naruto a smile, and Sakura winced. Naruto had never responded well to Sasuke's teasing, and Sai was even _worse_. Sure enough, she could practically see Naruto's blood begin to boil.

"Why you little-!"

Naruto looked at though he was about to throw a punch. Then, all at once, Naruto stopped. He let out an angry grunt, then took a deep breath. Then, he began to pace, counting out loud as he did.

"One, two, three, four…"

"Hmm? What are you doing, Naruto?" Sakura watched curiously.

"Granny says if someone I don't like says something irritating, I should take a deep breath and count to twenty." Naruto insisted. "Then, if I still want to punch them, they deserve it. Nine, ten, eleven…"

"...maybe I should take some tips from Tsunade." Sakura admitted with a chuckle. If she could even get _Naruto_ to hold his temper…

Or maybe, just maybe, it was Naruto starting to grow up.

It didn't take long for Gaara to join them, and then the four of them were leaping off into the night. Sakura realized that she'd never really been to the Nara compound before. It was on the outskirts of the village, bordering a forest that the Nara used to raise their deer herds. Outsiders were forbidden without the consent of the clan. (Typically for all clans, usually, who were fairly protective of their clan secrets.)

That night, however, the Nara compound was full of visitors, familiar faces. Sakura was pleased to see Ino and Chouji, as well as Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. All of the remaining members of the Rookie Nine...a true homecoming. Chouji had brought snacks, of course, and with that Shikamaru began to lead them out into the woods.

"You know no shinobi can come out here into the Nara forest." Shikamaru explained to her as they walked. "So, that means we can talk freely. We've been using this as a base for our top secret S-ranked mission."

"S-ranked mission?"

"Operation: Konoha Revival." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "...Naruto picked it, _not_ me."

"If it's an S-ranked mission, it has to have a cool name!" Naruto insisted. "Otherwise what's the point?"

"But before we talk, we need to straighten something out."

Shikamaru stopped in his tracks, turning to face Sai. "Rather, we need to straighten out things with _you_."

Sai stopped as well, though he kept his smile on his face. "Oh? So, unlike Brainless here, you can actually think."

Sakura briefly caught sight of Naruto starting to pace again. Shikamaru, of course, was unphased.

"You've claimed to have sided with Sakura and abandoned Root. But we have to confirm that's true. After all, what better way to ingratiate yourself to Root again than by exposing the shinobi that want to take them down?"

Sakura froze. It was something that she hadn't even considered, despite how obvious it was. Still, if she couldn't trust Sai, after everything…

"You can trust him."

Sakura was surprised to see _Gaara_ step forward. He had stayed quiet all during the Nine's reunion, and during the walk. In fact, ever since he'd stepped foot into Konoha's borders, he'd barely spoken much at all. He'd talked briefly with Naruto, but otherwise had kept his distance. It was Sakura who knew all of the Konoha shinobi, after all, not him, so perhaps Sakura could understand. She'd learned that Gaara had a shyness around those he wasn't used to. But now, to speak up to those strangers, in defense of _Sai_…

"If he wasn't trustworthy, he wouldn't be here." Gaara continued, glancing over to Sai as he spoke. "He would be _dead_."

Sakura felt a small chill fall over the group at that, though Sai didn't look nervous at all. If anything, Sakura could have sworn she felt relief.

"Sakura…" Ino whispered in her ear. "You know, I've read all your letters, but...Gaara still seems really _scary_."

Sakura laughed nervously. "Listen, he's just trying to make sure Shikamaru knows he's serious, that's all. And he's right." She straightened up, turning to face Shikamaru. "Look, I trust him too. He's been by my side all this time and proven-"

"No offense, Sakura, but I think I'll trust Gaara's words over yours in this instance. After all, you defended Sasuke to your last breath."

Sakura's breath hitched, and this time Naruto couldn't hold back. He appeared in front of Shikamaru all at once, teeth bared. "Shikamaru, don't you dare bring Sasuke into this!"

"This is precisely why I _have_ to, Naruto. I know you and Sakura care about him, but he _left_ us. It doesn't matter how much you trusted him, that didn't stop him from leaving. Your trust was _misplaced_." Shikamaru argued. "You both care about people deeply. I get that. That's precisely why I can't trust your judgment in this sort of situation. Sakura is the kind of person who will defend Sai to her last breath. Gaara, however, does not have this track record. If he trusts Sai, then Sai is trustworthy." Though Naruto had grown taller than Shikamaru, it was still Shikamaru that looked as though he was dominating the conversation. Even in his rage, Sakura realized...Naruto had come to respect Shikamaru's leadership.

And to Sakura's surprise, Naruto stood down.

Well, she couldn't let Naruto show her up in maturity. Sakura calmed herself, looking over to Gaara. "Alright. So you can't trust my word, but you can trust Gaara's. So does that mean you're okay with Sai being here?"

"Actually, I was sort of counting on him being here." Shikamaru admitted. "Now that the three of you are here, we can start discussing our plans."

Chouji brought out a picnic blanket, and the ten of them sat and began to talk.

Team Eight had been the most active since the 'mission' had began. As a squad that specialized in reconnaissance, they'd been the most suited to gathering preliminary information about Root. Hinata in particular had proven, by coincidence, to be the best suited to the task, due to her being the heir to the Hyuga clan. Clan heads met periodically to discuss village politics, alongside the Hokage and the three elder council members.

"I had the thought at one of the meetings that it would make sense for the head of Root to be someone who has a lot of influence…" Hinata admitted. "But it couldn't be a clan head. The Third Hokage wouldn't have let one clan have so much influence. That narrowed it down to the three council members…"

"That's when we had the bright idea to have Shino start bugging them!" Kiba interjected. "It was super easy! Shino had a few of his bugs stay with Hinata during a meeting, then had them slowly make their way onto the council members while they were distracted with the talks. It only took a couple of days to confirm it!"

"Yes. It was easy to deduce." Shino confirmed. "Why? Because of the three council members, only one consistently went underground, meeting with dozens of shinobi daily. The other three mostly spend their time at home, or in the Hokage tower to meet with Lady Tsunade. Thus, we concluded that it must be Danzo Shimura who is the head of Root."

Nine eyes looked towards Sai for confirmation. Sai blinked before speaking. "Well, I cannot exactly confirm or deny it." He said with a shrug before sticking out his tongue. Sakura briefly saw the black lines marking his seal. "I'm not allowed to speak of anything regarding Root secrets."

"Then don't speak it." Shikamaru countered. "Just give a thumbs up if we're right."

Sai blinked again. Slowly, he moved his hand to give Shikamaru a thumbs up. "Oh." Sai said. "...maybe it's Danzo who's been brainless this whole time."

"I imagine it's mostly meant to deter interrogators who think they can torture information out of you. If they see a seal like that, they might assume there's no possible way for you to give information without paralyzing yourself. Danzo never assumed a member of Root would turn on him."

"...yes, perhaps so."

"That means we do have a confirmation method." Shikamaru grinned. "Perfect. That means we have at least one witness."

"Witness?" Sakura thought for a moment. "You're planning on bringing Danzo to trial?"

"Yes." Shikamaru confirmed. "But we can't do it yet. Root is an officially sanctioned Konoha organization. We can't bring Danzo to trial simply for leading an organization that the Hokage herself has allowed to exist. What we need is proof of Root's _actual_ crimes." He pulled out a scroll, unrolling it for all to read. "Through Sakura and our own investigations, we have two leads. One is Root's removal of Konoha children to train in their program. It's not going to be enough to convict them of anything; they'll likely have covered their tracks and claim that these children willingly joined them. In fact, this is likely why Root has mostly focused on orphans for their recruits. However…" Shikamaru gestured towards Shino.

"Shikamaru had originally thought that Root wouldn't dare risk taking clan children. Why? For fear of invoking the wrath of the clan." Shino began. "However, I can say with absolute certainty that this is not the case. This is because Root approached myself and my cousin when we were young in an attempt to recruit us."

"What?" Sakura blinked. "They tried to _recruit_ you?"

"Correct. Though I felt uneasy accepting Root's invitation, my cousin, who had recently lost his father, accepted the invitation. I believe he hoped to find purpose working in Konoha's underground. I have not seen him since, and thought little of it until recently. When I asked my parents what they believed happened to my cousin, they informed me that he had died on a mission. Since this conflicted with what I saw happen in my youth, I realized the possibility that Root might be misleading clans by claiming their shinobi had passed in battle, when in actuality they had been recruited. Following that logic, one could make the reasonable argument that Root has been taking children from clans without their permission."

"The clans will riot if they find out." Ino added. "Every single clan is going to be questioning if their members have simply died, or if it was faked by Root. All we need on that front is to show that Shino's cousin has really been in Root all along."

"And Shino's already confirmed it. His kikaichu could easily sense his cousin's hive. In terms of evidence, we got this one in the bag." Kiba said with a grin.

"So why wait?" Sakura asked. "Why not bring this up to the Hokage right away?"

"Because that's not enough." Shikamaru explained. "There are a dozens of shinobi in Root, possibly a couple hundred. All of them are elite shinobi, potentially clan members. If we try to bring Root down, it's possible that Danzo will use it as an excuse to start a coup. Right now, he believes himself to be hidden, manipulating things from the shadows. That's how he likes it. If we bring him into the light, there's no longer a reason to behave himself. No point in letting the Hokage be his figurehead. He might just try to take over."

"So what you're saying is that it's pointless to go after Root. What we need to do is go after Danzo himself." Sakura confirmed.

"Right. Cut off the head and the body won't know what to do. Without Danzo, Root will likely fall apart. Even if they don't, they've been trained to be loyal to Konoha to the death. If not Danzo, they'll listen to the Hokage next. From there, Tsunade can disband Root and integrate the agents back into Konoha proper."

"Alright. But you mentioned two leads into Root, didn't you?"

"I did." Shikamaru nodded. "Though the second one has only come up recently, and it came from you, Sakura. You remember what you told me about what Itachi said to you?"

"Wait, you met up with _Itachi_?" Naruto spoke up. "Where was he? What was he doing?"

"We saw him on the border of Taki." Sakura explained. "He confronted me and asked after Sasuke. When I told him he'd driven Sasuke off to Orochimaru, he...suggested that it wasn't what he'd meant for Sasuke. And that someone had promised him they'd keep Sasuke safe."

"At first, I thought that Itachi might be delusional." Shikamaru began. "After all, he murdered his entire clan, only leaving Sasuke alive. Why would there be anyone that condoned that behavior? Who would have promised Itachi _anything_ after Itachi butchered a clan?"

"...it sounds like you might have an answer."

"Not yet. Nothing confirmed. But it's a lead we have to follow. And that's where our current plans come into play. There are two places we can look to find out more information about Itachi." Shikamaru pointed to Naruto. "And Naruto is our best man for the first place."

"That's right, I'm the best!" Naruto grinned. "...wait, why am I the best?"

"The Hokage has files on every shinobi that has ever existed in the village. I would wager even those who have gone rogue. What I need first is access to all of Itachi's files, and as the Hokage's pupil, you, Naruto, are in the best position to get ahold of them. So, Naruto, this is your new mission, assigned by me. Get me that file, and make sure nobody knows you've gotten it. _Especially_ not Root."

"Roger!" Naruto saluted. "You know me, I'm the stealthiest shinobi around! I'll get you those files no problem!"

"Let Team Eight be your backup, Naruto. If anything seems too troublesome, use them to help you out. And that leaves Team Ten and Sakura's group for my second mission." Shikamaru continued. "And that mission is potentially the most dangerous of all. What we need to do...is infiltrate and investigate the Uchiha clan compound."

Sakura swallowed. "Shika...if _you_ get caught doing that, it might be considered treason. If _I_ get caught doing that, it could undo everything I've set out to accomplish with the neutrality pact. Nobody in any village would ever trust me again."

"You're right." Shikamaru agreed. "In fact, outside of Sasuke, nobody has been allowed inside the clan compound since the massacre. Or rather, nobody is _capable_ of getting inside. It's sealed by a powerful barrier that will only allow those of Uchiha blood to enter. Even getting inside to clean up the massacre took the work of the Hokage and several seal-masters in order to breach it. Seal-masters that I theorize may have been a part of Danzo's Root."

"If Root did the clean-up, doesn't that mean there's probably nothing left there of use?"

"Potentially. It's possible we won't find anything of use at all. But I have an inkling we might just find something if we know where to look, and in order to get inside, I need _your_ help specifically, Sakura."

"Me?" Sakura frowned. "I don't really know any seal-work, Shika."

"Neither do I." Shikamaru agreed. "Thankfully, if we play our cards right, we won't need any sealwork. Remember when I asked you to send me a list of all of the skills you had at your disposal?"

"Yeah, about a month ago, right?" Sakura nodded. "So you're saying something I know how to do can help."

"Bingo." Shikamaru agreed. "And I can almost guarantee that we won't get caught. All we need to ensure is that nobody will know that you're missing for a long period of time. For that, we need Ino."

"Me?" Ino pointed at herself. "How so?"

"Sakura's been your friend since you were children. It's only natural she'd want to spend a day catching up with you, right?" Shikamaru pointed out. "And Gaara...you've spent all this time with Sakura. Do you think you could effectively make a sand clone and mimic her for a few hours?"

"Yes. But I couldn't go far from it."

"You won't have to. I know you won't like it, but everyone expects you and Sai to be joined to Sakura's hip while she's here. While your sand clone is with Ino, you and Sai will be nearby to watch over it, still playing the part of her bodyguards."

"You mean...letting Sakura go alone with you." Gaara frowned. "You're correct. I don't like it."

"There won't be anyone in the compound to hurt her, if I've read the situation right. Just me and her, in and out, back before anyone realizes what's up."

"And this is necessary? No other way?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Alright." Gaara nodded. "Then we will do it."

Sakura couldn't help but swallow again, nervous. Infiltrating the Uchiha compound...what would Sasuke think of her if he ever found out? And the other villages, if she was discovered…

But Shikamaru _was_ the smartest person she knew. If he thought there was something in the compound to discover, she had to trust him.

"We do it." Sakura agreed. "Whenever you're ready, Shikamaru."

"Tomorrow then. The quicker we do it, the more time we have to analyze what we find. After all, we don't have much time before the next step of our plan."

"The next step?"

"Right. The chuunin exams are coming up, and both our teams will be participating. That'll be limiting the ability we have to research...but it will also mark the next phase of the plan. Because, if I'm correct, Danzo will be making _his_ move at that time as well." Shikamaru looked to Sakura, as serious as ever. "Danzo...either he or someone under his influence going to ask you to do something in the coming weeks. Something that's going to seem ridiculous. Maybe even stupid. You should protest it, claim you don't want to do it...but whatever happens, you _have_ to do it."

"That's...really ominous, Shikamaru." Sakura frowned. "Why would I want to do something that Danzo wants me to do? And what do you think he's going to ask, anyway?"

Shikamaru put a finger to his lips. "It'll be more genuine if I don't tell you, but you'll know when the time comes. And at that time...you'll know what the next step of the plan is. Trust me."

So much she didn't know...so much she _wanted_ to know. But she was the one who had brought Shikamaru into this. She couldn't pull back now.

"I trust you." She confirmed.

And only time would tell if her judgment was correct.

* * *

It was almost pitch black as she made her way back home, Gaara and Sai close behind her. They were silent as they returned, each of them still mulling over what had been discussed in the Nara compound. Even as they each settled in for the night, Sakura found herself too anxious to fall asleep just yet. She made her way to the roof of her house, spreading out against the tiles and looking up at the stars. She couldn't wrestle the feeling of dread from her heart, and likely wouldn't until Danzo was dealt with. And who knew when that would be? Sometime after the chuunin exams, but what could the exams possibly do to help them?

Sakura thought back to her own exam a year ago. So much had happened then...so much had _changed_. Sasuke had met Orochimaru...Naruto had met Jiraiya and started harnessing the power of the Fox...and she had realized, for the first time, what she would have to do to become a true shinobi. Were these exams destined to be another beacon of change? Would everything she knew get turned on its head, once again?

Sakura took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Only time would tell, she supposed. She put her hands around the amulet at her neck, letting herself lull into a meditative state. Out of instinct, she let her sensing jutsu pulse out around her. She sensed Gaara and Sai below, sensed the vague energies of the shinobi stationed around the village, and…

_And?_

Something...nearby.

Sakura opened her eyes, squinting in the darkness. On a rooftop, one house over, Sakura saw her.

A woman, dressed in a long black coat. Even in the darkness, Sakura could see the brilliant blue of her hair.

Then, as the wind blew and pushed against them, the woman's image seemed to flutter away and fade into the night.

Sakura stood up, looking around and sending out her sensing pulse again. There was no sign of the signature, nothing like what she'd sensed before. Was she losing it? The woman's signal had been so faint that she'd barely picked up on it at all. So faint that, before her time with Itachi, Sakura might not have even been _capable_ of sensing it.

Maybe she was just tired. Maybe she'd been seeing shadows. But something told her, something _insisted_…

No.

Her troubles at Konoha had only just begun.


	46. Chapter 46

Sakura dreamed of red skies over Konoha.

The color red was sometimes just enough to make her heart freeze in her chest and put tremors through her very bones. Even putting on her clothes each morning could be enough to remind her of the visions Itachi had shown her, even getting a passing glance at the soft red sheen of Gaara's hair could send her over the edge. But now, seeing red, Sakura did not feel fear.

There was a strange effect on her dream now, and not just the redness that permeated over everything like a thin film. In most dreams, Sakura moved as she would awake. Even if she wasn't completely lucid, she still acted as _herself_. In this dream, however, she was not herself. She was Another.

She did not feel fear at these red skies, because she was Another. Instead she felt only…

Resentment?

Yes, that was the emotion she felt now, faint, almost buried beneath the myriad of other strange sensations. Resentment towards the village she had grown up in and cherished. Resentment for what they had **_done to her_** allowed to happen. Resentment for those who lived in the illusion of peace **_while others laid in forgotten graves_** while wars were waged behind the scenes.

**_I will put this fragile world to rest._**

**_There will never be war again._**

And then Sakura's eyes turned, moving impossibly fast and yet desperately slow towards the building next to her. When she caught sight of the window, she saw…

She saw…

_Who are you?_

**_Who are you?_**

* * *

Sakura awoke so smoothly that she was convinced she was still dreaming, her hand shooting forward to grasp at Gaara's wrist before he could touch her shoulder. The sand swirled, and her hand pummeled against the hard grains before it could reach her companion.

For a moment, Sakura was simply confused. Never before had she moved fast enough to trigger Gaara's sand, nor had she ever tried to. The sand protected him from anything it deemed hostile...was she acting _hostile_?

"Sakura…" Gaara's voice held a tinge of worry. "You were...having bad dreams?"

"No." Sakura answered immediately. Her voice felt strange in her throat. "I'm not sure what it was."

Her amulet felt hot around her neck. Out of instinct, Sakura pushed herself out of bed so she could look across the room at her mirror. She saw herself, bed-hair and all, wrapped in the comfortable pajamas she hadn't been able to wear since she'd left Konoha months ago. She saw _herself_.

"Sakura?"

"I'm okay. Just...a weird dream. Not a bad one."

She saw Sai resting on the mattress nearby, looking towards her with a gaze that was a bit too intense even for her to decipher. Confusion, or perhaps intrigue? Maybe even...distrust? Sai had always been difficult, and somehow the fact that he was learning how to _express _emotion made it even harder. Sometimes Sai would want to express happiness and come across as cold, and vice versa.

Gaara, however? Definitely concerned. The boy could put on the facade of a stone face, but around Sakura he was always far more open. Sakura reached out again, this time slower and more gentle, so she could put her hand on his own.

"I'm okay." She repeated.

She didn't believe herself, but for the boys, it was enough.

* * *

Breakfast was usually a quiet affair in the Haruno household. Sakura's father needed at least an hour of movement before he could even be considered awake, and her mother liked her mornings calm. It worked well even with Gaara and Sai around, who were both somewhat quiet people by nature anyway, and it gave Sakura an opportunity to think without being drawn into conversation.

At least, that was what she would have thought, until the front door was almost knocked down by the full force of Jinchuuriki enthusiasm.

"I'M LOOKING FOR SAKURA HARUNO! DOES SHE LIVE HERE?"

Sakura scrambled to get to the door, knowing full well that Fuu would wake up the whole neighborhood if she was allowed to knock for much longer. She sprinted to the door, pulling it open and narrowly dodging Fuu's next attempt at a knock.

"Oh." Fuu grinned. "I thought I smelled you in here. Shibuki told me if I didn't go get energy out of my system, he'd kick me over the wall, so I thought I'd go tell you about what I found!" She sniffed the air. "Is that food?"

"...come on in, Fuu." Sakura couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of her friend. She knew how excited Fuu had been to see new sights and people. Being cooped up in a Konoha inn was likely torture. If a loud morning was the price to pay to give her some time out, Sakura was willing to pay it. Plus, in the Haruno household at least, there was always extra breakfast.

"So I was walking around this morning looking for a place to watch the sunrise, cause you rarely get to see the sunrise when you're in Taki, you know? Underground and all. And I was watching all the Konoha shinobi get up to go start their missions and whatnot." Fuu talked as she made her way to the table, not even stopping for breath as she sat down next to Gaara. "And then I _saw_ her, Sakura."

"Saw who?"

"The girl I'm gonna _marry_."

Sakura let herself laugh a little at this, mostly because Fuu's optimism was just so _refreshing_ after the doom and gloom around planning the demise of Root. "You found your future wife, huh? Do you even know her name yet?"

"N-no. Yes. Maybe." Fuu crossed her arms. "I'm not _stupid_, I know I gotta know her name first before I marry her. But she's a shinobi so I didn't want to distract her from her duties by asking her out in front of her commander. She's _your_ age though, Sakura, so I figured you'd be able to tell me who she was and maybe even introduce me!"

"My age?" Sakura only knew a couple of kunoichi her age in the village, so either Fuu was off or she meant either…

"...describe her for me."

"How could I ever even _begin_ to describe her?" Fuu seemed to have stars in her eyes as she began to talk. "She has long, beautiful hair like midnight, and her eyes shine like _diamonds_...but like, it's also a little weird? I've never seen anyone with eyes like that before, so I wonder if it's like a clan thing, so she might even have some cool _power_, wouldn't it be awesome if she had a cool jutsu that only she could do?"

Sakura felt her heart sink. She knew _exactly_ who Fuu was talking about now, and...she was doomed.

"That's Hinata Hyuuga you're talking about."

"Hinata…" Fuu said the name with reverence, completing missing Mebuki putting a plate of food in front of her. "That's such a beautiful _name_, Sakura you _have_ to introduce me now, you _have_ to!"

"I don't know if she's such a good idea, Fuu." Sakura countered, trying her best to be gentle. "The Hyuuga are a really powerful clan here in Konoha, and she's the heir to the main branch. I don't know if her family would let her marry a foreigner, and you're sworn to Taki."

"T-that's okay! I can be both!" Fuu insisted. "I can go half and half! We're supposed to be aligned anyway, right, so I can do both!"

"...plus, she's already got a crush on Naruto, and she's had it bad since we were kids."

"Naruto?" Fuu thought, then realized who Sakura meant. "The Kyuubi boy? Him? Naruto…" She stood up, sending her chair clattering to the floor as she held a fist to the air. "Naruto! Then that means that he's my rival in love!"

...well, she was handling the bad news well, at least.

"Sure, Fuu. He's your rival." Sakura giggled as she ate. "Though I don't think Naruto's put together that Hinata likes him that way, so please don't go charging in for a fight without explaining it."

"Oh, we're not going to fight. Not yet." Fuu insisted. She noticed Sakura eating and pulled her chair back up so she could start to inhale her own food, pausing occasionally to get her words out. "Oh no. Not yet. Because he's taking the chuunin exams too, right? That means...I'm gonna kick his butt in the exams. I'm gonna kick his butt and I'm gonna look _great_ doing it, and Hinata will fall in love with me!"

Sakura was fairly certain it wasn't that easy, but...she wasn't going to dissuade her. Even for Hinata's sake, just having someone around who thought so highly of her from a single glance...it might do wonders for the girl's self esteem. Plus, Naruto would probably be more than happy to have a Jinchuuriki rival that could keep up with him in a match. And as for Fuu...well, it was a long shot that this crush would ever come to fruition, but who was she to say what the future held? Hinata _was_ the Hyuuga heir, but it was a well known 'secret' that her father vastly preferred her younger sister Hinabi. Maybe the Hyuuga elder would be less strict with Hinata's future prospects if he had already given up…

It was a sad situation that Hinata was in either way. Sakura felt for the girl. Naruto had made the declaration that he would change the Hyuuga clan, once he was Hokage. She only hoped that was something he could accomplish.

Fuu, in the meanwhile...well, now she had a goal, Sakura supposed, which would be good for her. Plus, even if it didn't work out with Hinata, getting friendly with the Hyuuga clan would be beneficial for Taki in the long run, and strengthening the new Konoha/Taki alliance.

Sakura let herself bask in Fuu's declarations as she ate. Maybe her optimism for the future would be contagious.

* * *

Gaara was more nervous here in Konoha than he'd ever been before in his life.

It was perhaps exacerbated by the fact that Sakura was still having nightmares. She claimed she was fine, but Gaara knew she hadn't slept so strangely before she'd had her run-in with Itachi. And on top of that, as of the night before, now _Shukaku_ was beginning to get worried, and the beast was vague as to the reasons why. All Gaara got were feelings of unease and a single, ominous phrase.

_**The energy that girl has with her...it reminds me of something.**_

Shukaku had been alive for centuries. Gaara still wasn't sure if the reason for his vagueness was due to forgetfulness, or simply not wanting to say. Gaara promised himself he would interrogate Shukaku further that night, but for now there were more pressing matters to worry for. This was the evening that Sakura would attempt to infiltrate the Uchiha compound with the Nara, and that alone was a second worry. The last time Gaara had let Sakura wander off on her own, she'd had a run in with two Akatsuki. Maybe it was irrational, but Gaara couldn't help but wonder what Sakura would run into _this_ time.

**The girl attracts trouble like a magnet.**

And yet, Gaara couldn't bring himself to voice his concerns further. These plans were necessary, these actions necessary, and on top of that, Sakura looked so happy to see her childhood friends that he couldn't bring himself to distract her from that.

As they meandered their way through the Konoha streets, Gaara kept an eye on the surrounding people. Most were civilians, but peppered throughout were what Gaara had deduced to be several Anbu agents, no doubt ordered to keep an eye on the three of them. They were foreigners now, something Gaara was long used to experiencing at this point, but Sakura and Sai had never been 'strangers' in their own home. He wondered at first if Sakura had even thought that she might be being watched, but he occasionally saw her hands flicker in the sequence he'd come to recognize as her sensing jutsu. She was keeping an eye out, so perhaps she'd caught on yet.

They were going on an 'important errand' before their scheduled rendezvous with Ino in the evening, and Sakura hadn't yet mentioned what the errand entailed. However, it eventually became clear as they reached the edge of a vast grassy field, a Konoha training ground. In the distance, Gaara saw three shinobi running laps, egged on by an enthusiastic sensei.

"The chuunin exams are in two weeks! You're going to need to run faster than that if you want to be prepared!"

If any of the team protested, they were drowned out by the loud response of the bowl-cutted boy in front, who yelled his agreement before starting to sprint even faster around the grounds' perimeter. Sakura was quiet at first, watching with a smile on her face.

"I remember them." Sai commented quietly, so that only Gaara could hear. "Those two are...annoying."

Gaara's memory drew him back to a year ago. He remembered it...one of the first times he'd ever felt fear. A blur of green smashing through his sand with raw speed and force. The feeling of a fist breaking against his sand armor. Knowing, if he didn't move fast enough, that something would _break_…

Gaara felt a shudder work through him, and Sai took it for agreement.

Sakura, however, considered him a dear friend. After watching him long enough, she cupped her mouth with her hands and yelled loud enough to reach the ears of the running shinobi.

"HEY LEE!"

Gaara saw the boy startle, looking about for the source of his name. Then, even from the great distance, Gaara saw a wide grin grow on his face.

"SAKURA!"

Lee waved and jumped in the air, clearly excited, and then he began to run towards them. Only this run was even faster than his earlier jogging had been, so fast that Gaara's memory overtook him again, and he felt the fear of facing down a foe that was _moving way too fast_.

In retrospect, Lee had probably just been trying to go for a rather enthusiastic hug. But Gaara, already on edge and perhaps a bit _too_ protective of Sakura, couldn't stop his sand from doing what it had tried to do back then, and succeeded in doing now.

And naturally, moving as fast as he was, Lee couldn't help but run into his shield of sand at full force.

There was a bit of a crunch as body hit wall, and Gaara heard a startled squeak come from Sakura. For a moment, Gaara feared the worst. _I hurt him...__**again**_…

But the boy popped up, looking not too worse for the wear, only sporting a small bruise where he'd met the wall headfirst.

"Ah, Gaara, your sand is as tricky as ever!"

"I'm...sorry…"

"It is only a sign that I have been too lax in my training! Since I was not quick enough to surpass your sand this time, I will have to run another hundred laps!"

"Um, how about...later?" Sakura suggested, offering a hand to help Lee stand. "Besides, Lee, didn't you make me promise we'd do something when I finally got back to Konoha?"

Lee grinned. "Yes, that is right! A race in order to determine who has been training the hardest!"

It didn't take too many words to convince the others to take a break, and the team leader (Gai, was that the name?) was more than happy to referee. The other two teammates came and sat down on the grass next to Gaara to take a breather. Gaara remembered them both vaguely. The girl, Tenten, had faced off with his sister in the last exams. The boy, Neji, had faced Naruto. A year had done much for them; both were taller now, and the training they were enduring had started to put them into far better shape than most shinobi Gaara had seen. They'd be formidable foes to anyone at this point, even still as genin.

"I didn't realize that Sakura had enough energy to keep up with Lee." Tenten commented as she watched the race begin. "Has she really been training like he does?"

"Less lately." Gaara admitted. "With travel, she can't run laps. But in Iwa, yes."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't have to face her in the exams, then. I worry enough about having to go up against Lee or Neji." Tenten groaned. "Or...well, someone like you."

"That brings up an interesting point." Sai commented. He'd already pulled out his notebook and had begun to sketch. "Assuming we don't fail horribly in our attempts to 'unite the shinobi countries', we are going to need ways to determine rank amongst our number. Right now with the three of us, things are easy. If our numbers grow, it won't be."

"...are you saying you think we should have exams?"

"Maybe." Sai answered with a small shrug. "Beyond that, the villages will want to have a way to determine the strength of our shinobi, otherwise they might question our ability to maintain peace. I wouldn't be surprised if…"

And then Sai paused, his pencil hesitating on the page. "Oh." He said simply. "I see."

"You see?"

"What Shikamaru meant."

Gaara wasn't sure at _all_ what Sai was talking about, but they couldn't discuss it here in front of near strangers. Though Gaara had to wonder why Sakura hadn't asked to include Lee and his team in the plotting against Root. Were they untrustworthy? No…not to Sakura anyway. Perhaps there was another reason he hadn't yet considered.

It was about ten more minutes before the silhouettes of Lee and Sakura became visible in the distance. If Gaara had heard correctly, they'd raced around the perimeter of the village. Now they were neck and neck, running at top speed towards where Gai was waiting for them in the middle of the field. It wasn't Lee's full speed, Gaara knew that much. The boy still had his weights on, and perhaps that was how he managed to make it fair for Sakura, who had gotten faster, but nothing like Lee. Still, that didn't seem to stop Lee from putting in maximum effort, and Gaara could tell that Sakura was struggling to keep speed.

Still, he couldn't help but be a little bit proud when the race was too close for even Gai to call.

"Just what I expected of my eternal rival!" Lee proclaimed, wheezing from the effort. "I have not had such a good run in several months, Sakura!"

"Wait...eternal rival?" Sakura questioned. "I thought that...isn't Neji?"

"Neji is my rival too, yes, but only you have succeeded in pushing me beyond my limits! Because of you, Sakura, I am encouraged to be even greater than before!"

Sakura was quiet for a moment, and Gaara could see a flurry of emotions pass through her before she landed on somewhere between surprise and happiness. Gaara might have even sworn he saw happy tears in her eyes, though it might have just been a trick of the light. She held out her fist towards Lee for a fist bump.

"Alright then...eternal rival!"

The two laughed, laying down on the grass to catch their breath. Gaara saw Sai sketching out of the corner of his eyes, now with the exhausted racers as his subjects.

"They really are strange." Sai commented. But he said it with such an inflection that Gaara couldn't help but wonder if he had started to enjoy the strangeness that Sakura attracted around her.

Either way, it was enough for him just to see her happy.

* * *

Sai had grown up in Konoha, watched its borders for as long as he could remember, and yet he hadn't known its inhabitants were so _curious_.

Ino and Sakura seemed like they were speaking a language all their own as they talked. There were recognizable words, sure, but they spoke so fast, sometimes answering incomplete sentences, and Sai found himself struggling to keep track of all of the information being discussed. Training, people, the neutrality project, what other countries looked like, and then, what Ino thought was apparently the _most_ important subject…

"So are there any cute boys in Iwa? Or in Taki?" Ino got a look on her face that Sai recognized as slyness, and Sakura turned as red as a cherry with the question.

"I-I haven't exactly been thinking about that, thank you very much! There's been other things on my mind!"

Sai noticed, and it happened so quickly that Ino and Sakura didn't notice it at all, that Gaara fidgeted a small bit upon the mention of 'cute boys'. Was it possible he had seen a cute boy in Iwa? No, he didn't remember Gaara fixating on anyone other than Sakura...ah, perhaps this was the emotion called jealousy? Maybe Gaara's attachment had grown beyond that of friendship…

"Oh, I see what's going on." Ino continued to pry, still just as sly as before. "After all, you've got a cutie right here, so who needs anyone else?"

It took Sai a moment to register that Ino was looking at _him_ now. Oh...it was _him_ that she was calling cute. That was strange. Was she making fun of him? No...the girl appeared serious.

Sakura had warned Sai not to do anything to 'piss Ino off'. Ino was a dear friend. If Sai upset her, Sakura would take it out on him. So...he had to be careful with his response. He had to say the opposite of how he felt, that was what he had begun to figure out. Whatever his first thought was, _don't_ say that. So…

"Ah. You're...cute as well."

"_WHAT?" _

Ino had turned red at the compliment, and Sakura had yelled out in protest, looking _very_ upset.

"You call me fucking _ugly_ and Ino-Pig gets 'cute'? What the actual hell, Sai?"

"Oh, come on, Billboard Brow, don't be upset because Sai knows true beauty when he sees it." Ino recovered quickly, blowing Sai a kiss as she talked. "He's clearly got good eyes on him. It's nice to have a boy recognize my beauty for once!"

Sakura fumed in her corner of the table, and Sai realized he might have blundered again. He'd have to confess to Sakura later...as far as he was concerned, Ino was rather plain.

They had met at this particular restaurant in the early evening. Sakura and Ino actually _had_ wanted to catch up, beyond the plan Shikamaru had for them. Once the sun started to set, the 'four' of them would retreat to Ino's home to catch up further. In actuality, Sakura would be left behind here under a henge disguise, while Gaara used a clone to pretend Sakura was with them. That meant, for a few hours at least, Sai and Gaara would need to keep Ino entertained. Perhaps for now it was better that he'd gotten on Ino's good side.

"Alright, then, what about _you_, Ino?" Sakura demanded. "I mean...well…" Her demanding posture deflated with her words, and now Sakura simply looked nervous. "I mean, look, _Sasuke_ isn't around anymore, so it's...probably time to move on, right?"

"...yeah, maybe so." Ino agreed, just as morose at the mention of the Uchiha traitor. Sakura, Sai had learned early on, had been very attached to Sasuke. Ino too seemed to have this attachment. What was it about the Uchiha, Sai wondered, that so many were eager to come to his defense? Sai found himself strangely desiring to meet the boy.

"Well, okay...I'll tell you if you guys promise to keep it a secret."

The moroseness left the table, and Sakura was suddenly all in once again, leaning against the table as she looked to Ino eagerly. "Oh Ino, you _know_ I can keep a secret. And now you _gotta_ tell me."

"I don't know...you're going to laugh."

"I won't laugh, Ino, promise."

"Pinkie promise?"

"Pinkie promise." Sakura held out her pinkie finger, and Ino did similar. They shook, and Sai wondered what sort of symbolism the pinkie had behind it. He'd heard of bandit lords cutting off the pinkies of disobedient subordinates...maybe it was related? He took more notes in his book, making his own promise to research such gestures later.

"...alright, so, you know how...you know how Naruto's been on our team recently?"

Sakura's eyes widened, and she put a hand over her mouth. "No _way_, you're saying-"

"I-it's not, it's not like...I mean, I don't _know_!" Ino replied, turning red once again as she buried her face in her hands. "Listen, he was kind of annoying at first, and I didn't really like having him on the team then. He's loud and he just kind of runs into things without thinking and...well, but then he started listening to Shika and I more, and he started kind of helping out more than he used to, and suddenly I realize that if he wasn't around we wouldn't be doing missions _nearly_ as well. And he...he's like a _puppy_, we kept inviting him out to eat with the team and he was always just so happy to spend time with us, and even on missions he just looked so eager to help and be part of the team and...and I think sometimes, even if I think a mission is going to go bad...I think sometimes he smiles and I know everything's going to be okay, you know?"

"Yeah." Sakura's smile had turned fond as she listened. "I know exactly what you mean."

"So...maybe he's a little cooler than I thought, that's all."

"You know, if you told him that, I think you'd make his _life_. All he's ever wanted is to be accepted by people."

"Oh my _gosh_, I can't just say that sort of thing to him!" Ino seemed to turn even redder, and Sai wondered how much blood a human face could handle rushing through it all at once. More than he'd originally thought, it seemed. "I mean...I mean I don't even know if I _could_…"

"Come on, Ino, you told Sasuke he was awesome all the _time_!"

"Y-yeah, I guess I did." Ino let out a deep breath, folding herself over the table. "Maybe...maybe if the time is right."

Sai had heard that romantic feelings were particularly difficult to manage. In Root, they were encouraged not to have them, even more so than the other feelings that were discouraged. Romantic attachment led to a conflict of interests. How could one dedicate themself to the village if they had someone else they were more attached to than the other villagers?

But for Ino and Sakura, discussing romantic attachment seemed as easy as breathing, like they'd been doing it all their lives. And Sakura, despite her attachment to Sasuke Uchiha, had not been hindered by her emotions. Gaara, despite his attachment to Sakura, had not gotten weak. In fact, Gaara in particular seemed almost stronger for it, more capable of protecting her than someone who was more neutral.

Maybe...there was more to these emotions than even Danzo had realized.

* * *

As the sun began to set, Sakura excused herself to the restroom. She didn't really need to go; it was simply a way to get into a room where she wouldn't be watched.

Sakura Haruno went into the ladies' room. A perfectly disguised sand clone of Sakura Haruno walked out.

Sakura waited, knowing that the clone would be leaving with Ino and the boys soon. Shikamaru would be waiting for her outside once the coast was clear. She gave herself ten minutes before executing a henge technique. She didn't need to look fancy. Just different. Glasses, dark hair, and different colors for her outfit. The woman who walked out of the restaurant looked nothing like Sakura Haruno, and the only reason that Shikamaru knew it was her was because of a passphrase determined the night before.

"You're the man to ask about ground antler powder?"

"Yeah, I guess that's me." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "Pretty good look you've got there. Do you think there's anyone nearby to worry about?"

Sakura let out a quick sensing pulse. There were shinobi around, of course, but none close enough to be watching her, nothing like how the Anbu had been trailing her before. "We're clear." She said with a smile. "Worked like a charm."

"Don't say that until we're back home and not in a jail cell." Shikamaru countered. "We still have a lot to do tonight."

The Uchiha clan compound was fairly open, and Shikamaru had feared if they had tried to infiltrate in the daytime that someone might catch sight of them from outside the compound borders. At night, it was easier to move about unseen, and a Nara at night was even more at ease than most other shinobi were. Shadows were Shikamaru's domain. Sakura just had to follow his lead.

As they approached the compound, Shikamaru led them to a thickly wooded area just outside the border. There was no way they could get past the Uchiha seals, Shikamaru had determined, but the seal's border was a simple dome over the complex. It didn't go _beneath_ the ground...because the Uchiha hadn't thought anyone would be stupid enough to try and burrow in, especially when the clan had still been alive.

A tunneling jutsu, especially like the one Sakura had become especially proficient in, was the perfect way to enter the compound without triggering its defenses. It was so _simple_ that Sakura hadn't thought it would work. But one hand sign and a quick bit of tunneling later, she and Shikamaru popped up inside the compound.

It was silent there, as silent as a graveyard, which was...fitting.

There was a hollowness there that put Sakura in a state of unease. Had Sasuke really lived here all these years alone? It was no wonder he was so haunted by his past, so driven by vengeance, having had to _live_ here with the very blatant reminder of the clan's absence. The buildings were perfectly preserved, enough so that Sakura found herself expecting people to suddenly walk in and out of them, as though they'd been here the whole time.

"We need to find where Sasuke lived." Shikamaru told her, keeping ducked behind building walls as he moved deeper into the compound. "His father was the clan head, and Itachi would have lived there as well."

"What exactly are you trying to find out here?"

"Proof of conspiracy."

"You really think you'll find that here?"

"Not in Sasuke's house, not really, but I'd like to try searching there first before I resort to doing something _really_ awful."

"Shikamaru what the _heck _are you planning?"

"Just hope we find something in the house, then I won't have to tell you."

Sakura bit her lip, nervous. She trusted Shikamaru, right? The answers would come with time.

It was easy enough to find the building Shikamaru was looking for. It was easily the biggest one in the compound, and the one that was the most maintained out of all of them. While the other buildings were covered in dust and leaves and the various wears of time, this building was relatively clean. Sasuke had lived here up until a year ago, so of course he would have maintained it.

Sakura hoped she'd feel a bit safer inside the building, knowing that they were unlikely to be spotted once inside, but knowing she was walking around Sasuke's home was enough to make her stomach sink. There was a kitchen, and she caught a brief whiff of decayed food, left behind. There were pictures on the wall of Sasuke's family, and she saw him as she remembered him as a young boy, along with what was clearly Itachi and his parents. With every creak of the floorboards, Sakura felt that an Uchiha ghost might come for them any minute.

They weaved in and out of rooms, Sakura following Shikamaru closely as he looked for...whatever it was he was looking for. Eventually, they made their way outside again to the space behind the building, and it was there Sakura saw the massive shrine.

"Ah. That's probably it."

Shikamaru headed towards it without delay. Once they were inside the shrine, he began to speak again.

"I remember hearing my dad talk a lot about the Uchiha clan. After the Kyuubi attack, there were a lot of people who believed that an Uchiha was involved in making it go on a rampage. After all, the last time it rampaged, it was being controlled by Madara Uchiha."

"Right…" Sakura thought back to her conversations with Kakashi and Onoki. Their theories, her own theories...theories she'd had yet to explore further. "So why are we here in this shrine?"

"My dad notices a lot of things, you know. He's a pretty smart guy. He always talked about how the Uchiha looked more and more anxious in the year before the massacre, like they knew something was going to happen. And at that time, people were treating them worse and worse, like pariahs. That sort of thing happening to such a strong clan...makes you wonder how the clan took it."

"How the clan took it...you don't think…" It clicked for Sakura all at once. "You don't think they were planning on splitting from Konoha, do you?"

"I can only theorize without proof. I think they were planning on either leaving or rebelling. And why wouldn't they? The village hated them, so why would they stay aligned with people who didn't appreciate what they did for the village?"

Shikamaru began to tap at the walls of the shrine, looking around and listening as he explored the small room. "Naturally, they would have had to plan things in secret. The compound is protected but you and I just proved it's easy enough to break in. They needed somewhere nobody else knew about to meet. Maybe even somewhere that other clan members didn't know about. Only the ones they thought were strong and loyal enough to the clan."

"So you're just looking for signs of a meeting place? Even if we find one, that's not going to be enough to prove anything."

"Well, that's technically not all I'm looking for." Shikamaru admitted. "I guess since you aren't a clan kid you wouldn't know, but I figure most clans operate kind of the same. I obviously won't tell you where, but the Nara's have their own secret meeting room to discuss clan business. It's also where all of our clan scrolls and records of our jutsu are kept."

"Oh!" Sakura realized. "You're not looking for the meeting place, you're looking for the _clan_ secrets!"

"Bingo. Plus, if they were planning a coup, they might have left behind notes."

"And...if we find proof they were planning a coup?"

"Then that proves a theory of mine correct."

"Which is…?"

"That Itachi wasn't completely a crazy bastard and Danzo might have orchestrated something _really_ nasty."

"...oh _fuck_."

From what she knew of Danzo and Root, they worked for the protection of the village. Whatever it took to keep it safe.

The Uchiha planned a coup. The safety of the village was threatened. Itachi, who clearly had history with Danzo, was convinced…

Convinced that it would be better if the Uchiha clan died before threatening the village.

"Fuck fuck _fuck_, are you _serious_, Shikamaru?" Sakura let herself curse aloud, not particularly caring how loud she got. "You think _Danzo_ orchestrated the massacre? And...fuck, and Itachi agreed…"

"On the condition that little baby brother gets spared and protected."

"That is so _fucked up_."

"We don't have any proof yet. And even if we find plans, that's still not enough proof. But it'll be a start. And...bingo." Shikamaru knelt, pulling aside a tatami mat and revealing a wooden door in the floor beneath. "Hidden meeting place is found."

"How clever of you. Now, I will need you to step away from the mat."

Sakura froze as a voice sounded from behind them. That voice…

That _voice_…

She turned, her kunai already drawn as she faced the speaker. She hadn't even _felt_ them approach, hadn't even _heard_ them. But now, squinting through the darkness, Sakura realized _exactly_ where she'd heard that voice before.

She'd _dreamed_ it.

She'd seen that mask in the window's reflection in her dream, a swirl of black and orange that centered on a single hole around their right eye.

Sakura felt _fear_.

"You." She said simply.

"We have much to discuss, don't we, Sakura Haruno?" The person spoke, and Sakura could almost _feel_ the power this man wielded from his words alone. She couldn't stop herself from trembling, couldn't stop herself from wanting to drop this stupid quest and just _run_.

But running was the one thing she couldn't do now.

This person wanted to _talk_.

"Alright." Sakura agreed. "Then start talking."


	47. Chapter 47

It had started to rain.

Gaara had sat in on enough of Sakura's lessons with Onoki to know that rainwater heavily altered the earth it landed on, and if one had not trained in the manipulation of water chakra, moving earth in the rain was exponentially more difficult. As a desert child, he'd never needed to worry about that with his sand, but as he spent more time in damper terrain, he realized the truth of Onoki's words. He had learned early on that earth chakra had advantage over water chakra, but the precise details of this advantage hadn't ever been told to him. Earth didn't _eliminate_ water, it _absorbed_ it. A water jutsu would never be able to break a solid wall of earth, because the earth chakra would envelop the water chakra and create harmless mud. Each type of chakra had advantages, but those advantages could become disadvantages if one did not understand precisely how the advantages worked.

Sakura was quite skilled at manipulating earth. She was not yet skilled at manipulating water. If the rain became too heavy, it might be difficult for her to tunnel out of the Uchiha compound, which in turn would risk her life.

Gaara was a worrywort, this much he'd been told time and time again. But as the storm clouds gathered above the Yamanaka home, he couldn't help but feel like it was some kind of omen.

**Why do you think I never left the desert, kid?**

Gaara smiled at Shukaku's comment. True enough, Shukaku's raw earth power would be quite unhindered in a desert. Without the lightning and rain of storms, all that mattered was the quality of the earth and how well one could wield it.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the soft clink of a teacup being sat down in front of him. The Yamanaka grew their own tea leaves, among the other countless herbs and flowers that helped make poultices and poisons for the Konoha shinobi. He would give credit where it was due: he didn't know a soul that made tea better than Ino. Gaara gratefully took a sip, and whatever Ino had brewed within caused a small flare within his chakra, which was appreciated. Maintaining transformed clones for long periods of time was exhausting, even for a Jinchuuriki. Thankfully, inside the house, he no longer had to _speak_ as Sakura, merely maintain her presence. The Anbu watching them couldn't hear through the walls, nor were they allowed to. Though smaller than the Nara complex, the Yamanakas were still a major Konoha clan, and listening in on anything within the walls was forbidden without clan permission.

"I heard that the shinobi from Amegakure arrived today." Ino announced as she sat down. "The Amekage is a woman, apparently. Hinata said she was very pretty."

"Does it matter how pretty a Kage is?" Sai asked. "Beauty does not affect one's strength."

"Wrong." Ino shook her head. "Do you know how many men have hesitated to hit me just because I'm a pretty girl? I've been on missions where I haven't gotten scratched once because men couldn't bear to harm my beautiful face."

"That's silly." Sai replied, turning back to his tea. "If you were an enemy, I wouldn't hesitate."

Ino only smirked at that. "You say that now, but just wait until you see a pretty face on the battlefield. If you faced me down, I bet I could make you freeze with a single glance."

Gaara decided not to mention that Sai was not most shinobi; he doubted Root would have allowed their soldiers to be influenced by something such as physical appearance. But as much as the conversation seemed like an argument, Sai and Ino had developed a strange sort of relationship where neither of them seemed phased by the other's blunt commentary. It was probably good for Sai to have someone else he could be himself around. Even now, watching the two bicker, Gaara saw the beginnings of a smile on the boy's face.

Which, of course, just made him wish that Sakura was here to see it, and as he thought of Sakura again all the worries came flooding back.

"Bathroom." He said simply, standing up and heading towards where he'd seen one passing by earlier. Not that he really needed to go, but he'd thought of something just now. Something that _could_ help ease his worries.

Maybe he couldn't go keep an eye on Sakura. But someone else could.

He heard the patter of little footsteps following behind him. Emi was a smart tanuki, and as they reached the bathroom, Gaara gently shut the door behind them, then knelt down to talk to the tanuki directly.

"Emi. I need you to do something for me."

The tanuki looked back at him, bright eyed and paying attention. Good. Gaara dug into one of his pouches, pulling out a small scroll. Inside, Sai had sealed a couple of soldier pills, given to them courtesy of the Taki healers. They had been meant as supplements for Sakura as she'd recovered from chakra exhaustion, but since she'd hadn't needed them, he'd kept the scroll around just in case. He took out some thread and tied it around the scroll, then around Emi's neck until it was snug.

"Find Sakura. Don't be seen."

He opened the bathroom door just enough so that the tanuki could slip through. He listened as the sound of scampering paws slowly receded into the distance.

Maybe it was worrying too much. Maybe it was unnecessary. But Gaara was Sakura's protector, and that _meant_ overthinking things, making sure that no possible threat could harm his friend.

The rain fell harder, and Gaara thought briefly of praying to that strange god that Sakura always whispered to at night.

_Keep them safe._

* * *

"Tell us who you are."

Shikamaru had also drawn a kunai, and the shinobi didn't show even an ounce of fear as he faced down the intruder in front of them. A trait Sakura needed to learn.

The newcomer barely even turned to acknowledge Shikamaru, and it was so brief that Sakura almost missed it. Once the glance was done, the man kept his eye on Sakura and did not waver. "I am a ghost." He answered simply. "A ghost of the Uchiha clan, here to haunt these tragic grounds. I'd heard a very unusual tale from one Itachi Uchiha, about a girl who had been able to break the power of his Tsukuyomi. I simply wanted to see for myself if that was true. Itachi can be...dramatic."

Sakura wasn't sure how to answer _that_. If she admitted the truth, this man might want to see the claim tested. There were supposedly only two Uchiha left in the world, but Sakura had been doubting that claim for a while, and if this man was anything like she feared...he'd be just as capable as Itachi. On the other hand, if she claimed that she couldn't break the Tsukuyomi, the man might just try to test them anyway, to prevent them from finding whatever secrets lay here.

She was stuck. So she might as well _try_ to seem strong.

"You heard correctly. Itachi underestimated me."

"Itachi is used to being the strongest man in the room. Not even Orochimaru could see through his genjutsu. It is rare that he underestimates _at all_."

The man leaned against the wall of the shrine. His casualness was perhaps even more unnerving than the fact that he was clearly a surviving Uchiha, or at least someone who possessed a Sharingan. Sakura's grip tightened on her blade.

"So." The man continued. "You are claiming to be stronger than a member of the Sannin. I suppose you would have to be, to try and unite the world in such a way. There are already shinobi scheming against you. There will be no shortage of dissent."

"I'm already aware." Sakura countered. "I'm not a fool. If you've just come here to give a lecture-"

"I came to give an offer."

The man stood forward, holding out a hand. "My organization is short a member with Orochimaru's absence. And our goals are not so different, yours and mine. We both seek a world of peace. Your attempt at diplomacy will fail, as all attempts have failed time and time again. There will always be those whose selfishness outweighs their desire to cooperate. I, however, have a plan that is guaranteed success. I have a plan to end all wars and squabbles, all petty disagreements and bad blood. You can be a part of that plan. All it takes is a willingness to give up nine insignificant lives for the preservation of thousands. Join with Akatsuki, Sakura Haruno, and you shall be a _true_ bringer of peace."

There wasn't even a doubt in her mind or any hesitation. Sakura wasn't sure what delusion the man had convinced himself of, that the power of the Bijuu could so easily bring peace, but...those lives were not insignificant to her. And Akatsuki was not and was _never_ an option.

"You don't know a thing about me, do you?" Sakura answered. "I won't spill innocent blood for peace, especially not the blood of those I consider my dearest friends. If you're Akatsuki, then we are enemies."

"I see. It was...worth an attempt. Now I shall have no grievances towards ending your life."

In the blink of an eye, then man vanished.

It was only a prickling sensation on the back of her neck that caused Sakura to turn, a primal instinct that forced her to raise her kunai in self defense. As she turned, she saw the man appear again, and their kunai clashed together in a clang that echoed within the shrine.

Sakura forced herself not to look the man in the eyes. She hadn't seen them clearly enough to _know_ if he had a Sharingan, but it was not a risk she was willing to take. Instead, she focused downwards, confirming her visual before lifting her knee in an attempt to hit the man directly in the groin.

The man simply vanished again, and this time she was slightly too slow to react. Shikamaru, however, was not. She heard a second clash of steel as Shikamaru moved to cover her back. Smart. If they covered each other, whatever strange teleportation the man was using couldn't catch them off guard. Two people meant no blind spots.

What followed next was something akin to a dance.

The man appeared and reappeared around them, lashing out with a kunai whenever he was close enough. Sometimes it was teleportation, but other times Sakura was convinced it was sheer _speed_. After a while, she was able to confirm it. There was a pattern to the attack .The teleportation took a set amount of time, about three seconds. If the man used the teleportation again directly after, there was a five second delay. If the man simply moved, there was no delay, and he arrived at his next point of attack within a second. Sakura was certain Shikamaru was seeing it too; with time, both of their movements became less desperate and more definitive. Sakura was no longer worried for her life, but instead trying to look for an opening. And just as she was certain she'd found one, just when she was ready to strike…

The man stopped.

He reappeared at the door again, looking just as nonchalant as before. "As expected from a student of the Copy Ninja. As expected too from a child of the Nara. Your reflexes are quite keen. But I am not your only opponent tonight. If the Konoha patrols saw a battle happening on the sealed Uchiha grounds, I wonder what that would mean for the both of you?"

The man's hands began to move, and Sakura remembered all at once the second thing the Uchiha clan were known for, besides the infamous Sharingan. Fire-style jutsu.

_He was going to set the shrine on fire_.

And that would draw every shinobi in the village to investigate. She and Shikamaru would be _caught_, and everything she had worked for would be ruined, and this little _shit_ could just teleport away and not have to face a single consequence. Sakura saw Shikamaru stretching his shadow towards the man but it just wouldn't be _quick enough_.

She had only one option, and that was to use a jutsu that she hadn't even remotely come _close_ to mastering. One that Kakashi had sworn she could learn with time and patience, but right now she couldn't afford either of those things. She would have to master this technique _now_ or else everything was over.

Shukaku had once told her the secret to earth techniques was understanding the relationship between the natural earth energy around her and her own chakra. So too, Sakura deduced, would she have to understand water. There was no source of water nearby, but there was moisture in the _air_. She would have to inhale, merging the moisture with her own chakra, and expel it with enough force to counter whatever her enemy had planned.

Most importantly, it required _control_.

And that..._that_ Sakura had.

Her hands flew through the signs and she took a deep breath. She could feel her chakra writhing with the effort, clashing against the energy that it was not naturally drawn to form. She was _earth_, but now she had to be _water_, flowing and dancing and gushing forth against her opponent. Sakura felt a pressure build in her chest and mouth, and as soon as she saw the spark of fire in front of her, she let it spill forth.

It was a pitifully small attempt. Her water bullet couldn't have been bigger than her fist. But Sakura had done one thing right, and that was _aim_. Her bullet flew through the air and slammed against man's mask, which was just enough distraction to stop him from expending more chakra and gave Shikamaru just enough time to connect his shadow with the man's own.

Everyone froze, and for a moment that was all too brief, Sakura could breathe.

"Ah." The man commented. "How annoying."

And then Sakura saw the air begin to shimmer around the man, originally from a spot near the eyehole in his mask, and in the blink of an eye the man had vanished yet again.

"...shit."

"Shikamaru, how did he-"

The man reappeared, this time directly behind Shikamaru. He quickly placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, and before he could pull away, before Sakura could interfere, _both_ of them vanished.

When the man reappeared, alone, he made a gesture of wiping his hands together. "I forgot how troublesome the Nara shadow jutsu can be. He won't interfere with our playtime anymore."

"Where did you take him?" Sakura demanded.

"Another place. A place only I can reach." The man replied. "He will likely die there of dehydration within the next day or two. That is the price one pays for moving against me."

"Then why not me too? Why not just leave there to die? Then there's no risk of my interference."

The man hesitated, but by then Sakura had already managed to deduce the answer.

"...you're afraid it won't work on me. You're afraid it won't work because it's a _Sharingan_ technique, and if I can break out of Itachi's technique, you think I can break out of _yours_ too."

The man threw his hands together, once again going through the hand signs for a fire technique. Sakura matched it, and water clashed against the sparks of flame once, twice, a third time…

But the man hadn't tried to use that technique on her, which meant she was _right_. What was assuredly an accidental fluke during her face-off with Itachi had now turned into her _advantage_. So long as he thought her capable of breaking Sharingan technique, he wasn't going to waste chakra _trying_.

Which was all well and good, but that didn't solve the problem of the missing Shikamaru, and that didn't solve the problem of Sakura very clearly being _outclassed_.

Even keeping up her own small water bullets was quickly draining her chakra, and every now and then the man would switch it up and once again go back to teleporting around the shrine, attempting to get in a stab with a sharpened kunai. Only this time, Sakura didn't have Shikamaru watching her back. It didn't take long before the man got lucky, and Sakura found her shoulder on the receiving end of a kunai. The pain was a distraction, and it meant her arm couldn't move as quickly as before. If this was to be an endurance fight, Sakura was going to _lose_.

She needed Gaara and Sai, she needed Shikamaru, she needed someone, _anyone_…

The man appeared in front of her, too quickly to react. He was aiming for the deathblow, and Sakura couldn't move fast enough to keep him from putting a blade straight into her heart…

A flash of brown fur moved into her line of sight, and suddenly Emi had slammed herself into the man's head, and they both went tumbling to the shrine floor. Sakura heard the man cry out as the tanuki sunk her teeth and claws into whatever she could get a grip on. The man vanished, but this only served to take Emi with wherever he'd gone to.

There was a pause, and Sakura looked around wildly, putting her back against a wall while she tried to predict-

In a flurry of movement, the man reappeared, _this_ time with both Emi _and_ Shikamaru in tow. Shikamaru had grabbed onto the man's arm, which had been just enough to be taken back with him when the man had returned. By the look of things, he'd managed to even stab a kunai into the man's arm to make sure, which meant the tides were _changing_. The man could be injured, and if people were taken to the man's 'other place', they could be retrieved.

Of course, if they didn't move quickly, the man would just take them back again. Sakura couldn't let that happen. She reached for another kunai, this time pulling out the strange, three-pronged one that Kakashi had given her for her birthday. She wasn't as good at throwing it yet, but it was the only one she had left, and it wasn't about hitting him now, it was about keeping her friends _safe_.

"Emi, Shikamaru, _MOVE_!"

Sakura let herself pour chakra into her arm and threw the kunai with everything she could muster. She saw Emi drop off and Shikamaru push himself away, and she half expected the man to simply teleport out of the way again, but then…

The kunai passed through the man, and the man suddenly turned around to face it, raising his hands up against what looked to Sakura to be an imaginary foe.

_...he used these kunai for his Flying Thunder God technique…_

Kakashi's words rang in her head, and Sakura realized that the man not only recognized the kunai, but was _distracted_ by it.

She only had one chance, and _this was it_.

She didn't have much, but Sakura pushed what little chakra she did have into her legs and let herself fly towards the man, fist at the ready. When the man turned around to face her once again, this time _he_ wasn't quick enough to dodge her blow. Her fist connected with his mask, and she felt a satisfying crack as the mask shattered under her blow.

The man skidded back, reaching up to clutch at his face as his protection crumbled away. Sakura caught a glimpse of the red of a Sharingan eye, but only the one...the other eye looked forcibly shut. And the man's skin...Sakura had never seen skin look so unnaturally two-toned, a mix of typical flesh and a strange, white color that seemed to remind Sakura of a corpse rather than something alive.

Her eyes met his, and Sakura regretted it instantly but she couldn't bring herself to look away. There was something about the way the man looked at her, something about how he _looked_ that nagged at her mind and wouldn't let go.

"Very well done." The man finally spoke. "Perhaps...there will be use to keeping you alive after all."

The man vanished, and this time he did not return.

* * *

Sakura hadn't known that Shikamaru was capable as cursing as much as he was currently doing.

They'd made their way beneath the Uchiha shrine, but even as they'd searched through nearly dozen shelves of scrolls, Shikamaru continued to curse without hardly taking a breath between them.

"I cannot _believe_ I let you drag me into something so _fucking_ out of our league, this is such a _fucking_ drag, he dragged me to another _fucking_ dimension, Sakura!"

Sakura was only half paying attention to the rant. In one hand, she was scanning scrolls, trying not to let herself linger too long on clan secrets that she had no right to. Her other hand was carefully scratching Emi's back. No doubt Gaara had sent her as back up, and she was going to give that boy the _biggest_ hug when she got back to Ino's. As for Emi, Sakura would be giving her as many treats as the tanuki wanted for the next _month_.

"All I ever wanted to do was be an average _fucking_ shinobi with an average _fucking_ life. Retire early, start a family, never have to worry about anything this _fucking_ insane…"

Sakura wondered, briefly, if Shikamaru's time with Ino was beginning to rub off on him. Or even Naruto, though Sakura had never heard _him_ curse, but Naruto was capable of talking for hours if allowed, maybe he'd also started rubbing off on the Nara.

"We are going to fucking _die_ doing this, Sakura. If Danzo doesn't kill us, then whoever the fuck _that_ is certainly will, once he's gotten over the shock of you getting a damned _lucky_ hit."

Whoever it was…

Sakura knew. Sakura couldn't deny it. Either that, or it was going to be a hell of a coincidence.

One Sharingan eye. Similar age to Kakashi. A warped body.

Sakura couldn't deny that there was a high possibility that this man was Kakashi's lost teammate. Obito Uchiha.

She wasn't sure _how_. She wasn't even sure _why_, though if Obito had gotten wrapped up in the Akatsuki, all that meant at the end of the day was that he was the enemy. A thousand questions were already trying to worm their way through her, but Sakura was much too tired to process any of them. She didn't want to _deal_ with this. In a way, she agreed with Shikamaru. This was way, _way_ out of their league.

"Son of a _bitch_, Sakura."

"Did the cursing help?"

"Yeah...yeah, maybe a little."

Shikamaru made his way over to Sakura's side, bending over to pick Emi up in his arms. He began to stroke her back, and the tanuki made happy little purrs as she settled.

"If you hadn't shown up, I'd still be stuck in that weird dimension. So tomorrow we're going to Chouji's favorite barbecue and you're getting whatever the hell you want, alright?"

Emi let out a small chirp, and Sakura couldn't help but smile in relief. They were...they were _alright_ somehow. She'd fought another Uchiha and lived.

Maybe...maybe Onoki was right. Maybe the Uchiha weren't the gods she'd made them in her head, simply just...shinobi with a very powerful tool. A tool that could be learned. A tool that could be fought against. If someone stronger than her had faced this man, they could have easily gotten the upper hand, assuming they figured out the gimmick to the teleportation technique.

Sakura's hand went to her side, to the three-pronged kunai. The man had known the Fourth Hokage's signature technique, and not only that, had _feared_ it. As if he'd faced it before…

"Shikamaru?"

"Yeah?"

"You can't tell anyone about him."

"Wait, why? Don't you think it's important to at least tell the other rookies?"

"Yes, but...not yet. Not until I know more. If the wrong information gets out, it might cause problems."

"...which means you have theories about who that guy is. Theories that involve people we know."

Sakura nodded, absentmindedly reaching for another scroll. "For now, our enemy is Danzo. Once Danzo is finished, then I can let myself think about Akatsuki. Then I can let myself think about _him_."

"He might show up again."

"Not if we never come back here, he won't. Not in the village proper. He doesn't want to be seen. That's why he left once the mask was broken. He didn't want to risk me putting things together."

"Too bad for him, it seems like you already have."

"I think he underestimated what someone was willing to tell me."

Sakura opened the scroll, and her eyes widened as she took in its contents. This...this was _it_! She shoved the scroll in Shikamaru's direction, letting him look it over.

"...battle plans."

"Revolution plans." Sakura confirmed. "Meeting notes. There's several that look like it still here on the shelf. You were right, Shika. The Uchiha were planning an uprising. You were _right_."

"I'm starting to hate being right all the time." Shikamaru admitted. "Grab all of those. We should get out of here before it gets too late. You took that soldier pill, right?"

"Right." Sakura nodded. It had been a lifesaver, another thing she'd have to thank Gaara for. Without it, she might not have had enough chakra to tunnel themselves out again. Gaara was getting good at looking ahead, seeing the worst and preparing for it…

Sakura wished she could talk with Gaara about Obito. But for now, it was a secret she'd have to keep until she knew how to address.

If she was right, Obito Uchiha was alive, was currently a part of Akatsuki, and, if her worst fears were true, he had been the orchestrating mind behind the Kyuubi attack at Naruto's birth.

And somehow, this man believed that it was all for the sake of _peace_.

Sakura shivered as she pulled scrolls from the shelf. Would she hit a point, soon, where this would become too much? Akatsuki was so much more terrifying than even she'd initially thought. She'd gotten stronger, but it _still_ wasn't enough. She _still_ needed a tanuki to come and save her in her most desperate moment, she _still_ had to be rescued after all this time.

_Never again_, she'd promised herself. Never again would she be the weak link.

This wasn't just about her. This was about the world, and this was about _saving_ it. This was about doing what she'd read about in fantastical tales about superhuman shinobi, this was about doing what made up myths and legends. It _was_ too much for her, it was too much for _anyone_. But nobody _else_ was going to do it. Nobody else was this entrenched, nobody else had taken action. It was her that had spurred Shikamaru to look into Root. It was her that had taken up Onoki's offer to strive for peace. It was her, all those months ago, that had run from this very village because she couldn't allow herself to do _nothing_.

Sakura wondered if the heroes of her stories had even been superhuman at all. Maybe a hero was just the kind of person that moved when no one else would.

"We're going to do it Shikamaru." She insisted. "It doesn't matter that it's out of our league. We're going to do it because _no one else will_."

Shikamaru just looked at her, half pouting as he pulled Emi close.

"Girls are such a drag, aren't they, Emi?"

"...you realize Emi is a girl too, right?"

"...oh _man_."


	48. Chapter 48

((AN: To all you lovely readers, my fiftieth chapter is coming up, and it happens to coincide with the next big intermission chapter. I want to do something special for this chapter. I did this before with a previous intermission, but I am going to be opening up a poll so that you readers can choose the characters that you would like to see featured in the chapter! The poll will allow you to pick your top five characters, and will be open for the next week. The top five characters chosen by all my readers will feature in the chapter, so please make sure to vote if there's a POV that you would like to see!

I attempted to put the poll link here, but as FF is a bit more finicky than AO3, I ended up having to put the link on my profile instead. Please visit there for the link to the poll.

As always, thank you all so much for your supportive comments; I read and cherish every one of them.))

* * *

It was still raining when they returned to Ino's, which worked well enough for them. Sakura disguised herself as a small book, Shikamaru passed her on to Ino under the guise of 'returning it', and without much more effort Sakura was back amongst her companions and no longer under threat of discovery. They had taken four scrolls from the Uchiha compound in total, all of which Shikamaru had decided to keep for now. It would be better that way, Sakura had agreed. Shikamaru was the one orchestrating this now, and it was better if he knew all the cards he'd be playing with.

She did her best to hide her stab wound from the others, as well as the few cuts she'd received. It would probably be impossible to hide it from the boys later, but for now there was no point in making them worry more than they had that night. Sakura could have sworn she even saw relief on Sai's face when she'd materialized in the room, and if it had been bad enough a scenario to make _him_ worry…

Well, it didn't matter now. She was back, they were safe, and once the three of them had gotten home, Sakura could allow herself some much needed sleep.

Though, of course, it was hard to sleep when there was _so_ much to think about.

The worst part was not being able to voice her thoughts, not yet. The next time she'd be able to would be the next time they met the group at the Nara compound, and Shikamaru hadn't wanted to draw suspicion with them meeting there too frequently. It would be another week before the group met again, which meant that until then, Sakura was locked in her own thoughts.

Gaara and Sai both picked up on this, and while Sai was used to letting secrets lie, Sakura could tell it was frustrating Gaara to no end. All she could give him for hints was paying Emi some special attention and giving Gaara that promised hug once they'd returned home. It was enough, Sakura figured, to give him a small bit of relief, but she knew questions would be weighing on the boy's mind until the next week.

The next day was perhaps the most stressful. Sakura was summoned for a meeting with Tsunade in the early morning, and the last thing Sakura wanted was for the renowned medical genius to notice she was holding her arm a bit stiffly and to ask how she'd gotten so prominently injured in the two days she'd been in Konoha. She wrapped her wound as tightly as she could justify, and made a note to herself to just...move her arms as little as possible. Tsunade didn't know her mannerisms. Tsunade wasn't _looking_ for an injury. She would be okay as long as she kept it together.

As it turned out, Sakura hadn't needed to worry. There were plenty of _other_ distractions to keep the Hokage occupied, first and foremost being the Amekage.

Sakura recognized her immediately as the woman she'd seen on the rooftops two nights prior, though she had heard from her mother that the Ame group had supposedly only arrived yesterday. Sakura didn't linger too much on that thought; Ame and Konoha had been at war in the past, and this was perhaps the first time the two villages had interacted on peaceful terms since then. That the Amekage might want to scout out the state of the village before allowing her shinobi to enter was probably just healthy suspicion.

Seeing her in the light, Sakura had to admit that the woman really was beautiful. She'd never seen such a lovely shade of blue for hair, and the woman had decorated her hair with what looked to be an origami flower, far more intricate than anything Sakura had made in her childhood. Otherwise, the woman dressed simply, wearing a long black overcoat that was likely more for strategy than appearance; she could be hiding any manner of weapon or scroll beneath it, and most would be none the wiser. This was a woman that screamed not only elegance, but competence.

"Sakura, this is Konan, the current leader of Amegakure." Tsunade introduced them. "She came to me expressing a desire to speak with you personally."

"About the treaty, I am assuming?" Sakura gave the woman a polite bow. "I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have, but I had been planning on organizing a meeting with all the Kage prior to the start of the exams, so I wouldn't have to repeat myself as much."

"I see." Konan replied. "I would still wish to speak with you in private, just you and I, if you do not mind. Tsunade assured me she could provide a place where we would not be disturbed."

"...of course." Sakura shot a glance back to Gaara and Sai, knowing Gaara hated her going off on her own again. It seemed such scenarios were becoming inevitable. "Please lead the way."

There were a plethora of conference rooms in the building, and most were decorated with seals meant to prevent those outside from listening in. Sakura wasn't sure how well she trusted such seals; if they were Konoha made, than Konoha shinobi could learn how to maneuver around them, Root in particular. Still, it wasn't as though she was going to be discussing anything _that_ sensitive with the Amekage. Sakura was fairly certain that Konan just didn't want them to be disturbed.

They sat, and for a while both of them were silent. Sakura watched as Konan's eyes glanced throughout the room, looking towards each wall and the ceiling. Then, Konan lifted her hand. From her sleeve, paper birds fluttered out, causing Sakura to draw a kunai in defense. The birds, however, flew straight past her, flattening into long strips against the various walls. Sakura saw seals written on each of them, and once they had all been positioned, she felt a heavy aura of chakra fill the room.

"I do not trust Konoha seals." Konan admitted aloud. "But I do trust my own. Now we may speak freely."

Paper, Sakura's mind noted. This Amekage was good with seals, but her origami creations were a jutsu all their own, something she'd never seen before. Much like Sai's art came to life, so too did Konan's. Sakura lamented briefly that Sai wasn't here to see it for himself. Maybe in the future, maybe if things ever reached peace, the two could learn from each other.

"Alright. What did you want to speak to me about?"

"Many things. When I first heard of you, I was curious, you see. Your mission, your purpose...it is familiar to me."

"Familiar?"

"You could say that in the past, you and I would have been very similar."

Konan leaned forward in her chair, now looking Sakura dead on. "How much do you know of Ame's history?" She asked. "I know you are Konoha born, so I have no doubt what you know will be peppered by propaganda…"

"Don't forget, I've also studied under the Tsuchikage." Sakura countered. "What I know is that in the aftermath of the first Shinobi War, three major countries attempted to expand their territories, and as a result ended up clashing over Ame's lands. There's...admittedly disparity on who started the war. Konoha says Iwa and Suna. Iwa says Konoha and Suna. In Ame's case...I assume it did not matter. There was war over your land, and your people suffered for it."

"Yes." Konan agreed. "It was a very...disturbing time. It did not matter to us which shinobi came from where. All outsiders treated us the same. Ame shinobi were not spared. Ame civilians were not spared. It was during this time, when I was but a child, that I was orphaned and left to die."

Sakura couldn't help but wince. Stories like those were not uncommon in the shinobi world, but that didn't make them easier to hear.

"I eventually came into the company of two others like myself, and we learned to protect each other to survive. But it was not enough. We knew it would never be enough. Three orphan children, attempting to survive a shinobi war? We needed to learn jutsu to survive. We needed a teacher. And in time, we found one. Tsunade likely does not remember it, but she was there when we did. She was there, because by chance we happened upon the Konoha Sannin in the aftermath of battle. It was then and there that we convinced the shinobi Jiraiya to be our teacher, and for two years we studied as his pupils."

Sakura couldn't help but look shocked. This woman had studied under _Jiraiya_? Jiraiya was here in the village...had he seen her and known? Perhaps felt pride in his old student for becoming a leader?

"Once our training was complete, my friends and I had a goal. We would stop the war. We would stop _all_ wars. We would work for peace, not only for Amegakure, but for _all_ shinobi villages. We founded a group, and the three of us grew in strength and numbers until one day we caught the attention of Lord Hanzo, who sent us word that he was interest in cooperating with our mission." Konan closed her eyes, taking a breath before continuing. "It was a lie, of course. We were ambushed, and all of our group were slaughtered save for myself and one other of my friends. It was then that we learned the truth of this world. There is no desire for peace. The people in it...they are selfish, and desire only their own self preservation. In our wanting of a peaceful world, my friend and I were outcasts. Strangers. And if we did not face the world the way it wanted, if we did not approach violence with strength...we would _never_ see peace. So my friend and I raised a rebellion. We took back control of Ame from Hanzo. And in these following years we have trained and grown strong enough to defend our borders from even those countries that are considered the Five Great Countries. And now here I stand, Amekage, looking upon someone that looked as I did all those years ago."

"...so, you think I'm naive?" Sakura questioned. "For trying to make this treaty work?"

"No." Konan replied. "I think you are human. To want a peaceful world is a selfish desire, even if such a thing would benefit all. You want a world that is safe for the ones that you love, and you are aiming for it in a way that is logical. There is no need to worry if the countries are put into a position where they never need be at war again. But I have seen the worst that can come from attempting such things. You are Konoha born, and you are hope for your generation. In speaking with you now, I hope to repay my debt to Jiraiya, for giving us strength all those years ago. That is why I must insist that you temporarily put a halt to your goal of uniting the shinobi world."

"...temporarily?" Sakura frowned at this. "I can't _temporarily_ put a stop to things, I'm already in the thick of it. I came here to Konoha at this time so I could speak with as many Kage as possible. I'd be stupid not to take advantage."

"There are already forces moving against you, Sakura. The same forces that moved against myself. Hanzo was not alone when he betrayed us. There were others who wanted my organization dead. Others who profited from war, thrived in it. Others who are watching you and I even now, looking for weaknesses and openings to tear you apart. Those others…"

"Wait." Sakura held up a hand. It couldn't be. It _couldn't_ be that things were _this_ involved, all this time, in so many _places_… "Please, Lady Konan..._please_ don't tell me this has to do with Danzo Shimura."

This time, it was Konan who looked surprised. Then, suddenly, a small smile grew on her face. "Ah. So...you are already aware."

"_Crap_…" Sakura let herself moan. "I could write a _book_ on the number of conspiracies this man's been named in. I don't have _room_ for another one. But...wait, _wait_, do you have _proof_?"

"Testimonies of dead men." Konan admitted. "Nothing that would be of use to you. But that you already know of how dangerous that man is gives me a small bit of hope. It is he who persuaded Hanzo to turn against us. He who indirectly led to the death of people that I cherished."

"Then I think you and I are going to get along just fine." Sakura replied. "Danzo has many things he needs to answer for."

"He has already approached me. He, too, does not remember my involvement in Ame's history, or perhaps did not know who I was at the time. He desired my alliance. He claimed that Konoha had grown weak, and if my people aided him in 'Konoha's resurrection', we could stand to benefit. He offered us land. Offered us trade. I have no doubt he will be extending that offer to every Kage that has not yet signed your treaty."

That meant Suna, Kusa, Tani...three other villages that had potential to be turned against her treaty. Shikamaru had hinted that Danzo was moving against her, but this wasn't just about _her_. Danzo was planning a _goddamned civil war._

"You...haven't accepted his offer."

"I will not work with that man."

"But that doesn't imply that you are willing to work with me, either."

"No, it does not." Konan stood up. "But if I am here for anything, Sakura, I am here to see what it is you offer this world. You can consider it your one and only chance to catch my attention."

Konan made her way to the wall, reaching out for her paper seals. Sakura spoke up before she could pull it down.

"Testify for me."

Konan turned to face her. Sakura could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It was...it was _something_, and she had to try for it.

"Testify for your people. I'm doing everything I can to bring Danzo down, but if you testify for me that Danzo interfered in your village and instigated unnecessary death, your words will have _weight_. You could be the final piece we need. Please, Lady Konan, I'm _begging_ you to testify!"

There was a pause. Then, Konan pulled down her paper, going from wall to wall to retrieve her seals before making her way to the door.

"It was...pleasant speaking with you, Sakura Haruno."

She left, and once again Sakura was left alone with her thoughts.

* * *

It was still raining gently as Sakura left the building. A small part of her wondered if the rain was tied to Konan. It was said to always be raining in Amegakure, and ever since the Ame contingent arrived, it had rained almost nonstop.

It was Naruto who escorted them from the Hokage's office, under the stated guise of 'practising being a good host'. Tsunade had seen right through it, Sakura was sure, but she also knew Tsunade was kind enough to the boy to allow him some time to spend with his friends. Sakura was admittedly grateful to have Naruto around as a distraction. He brought a smile to Gaara's face, and even though he and Sai bickered near constantly, Sakura got the feeling that the two were growing on each other.

Feeling hungry, Sakura offered to take the three of them to Ichiraku, and Naruto jumped at the opportunity. It was a short walk to the quaint little stand, and from there Sakura got to see the familiar image of Naruto stuffing himself with bowl after bowl of his favorite.

"Are you nervous about the exams?" Sakura asked him once he'd slowed down. "I mean, the last time the exams happened, there was...a lot of other stuff."

(Next to her, she noticed a somewhat guilty look pass over Gaara's face.)

"Well, it's not gonna _be_ like last time, is it?" Naruto pointed out. "I'm _way_ stronger than I was then, and Ino and Chouji and I have been practising for weeks now. We're gonna be the strongest team there, you better believe it. And especially with you cheering me on, you know? If you guys are watching me, there's no amount of butt I won't be able to kick!"

"You know I'll be cheering you on." Sakura patted Naruto's back. "But I have to do it _quietly_. I'm not supposed to be showing favoritism towards anyone in any village."

"Quiet's fine. I know you'll still be rooting for me." Naruto replied with a grin. "I have a ton of cool new moves to show off. But...you still owe me a spar, you know! You promised in your letter, don't think I've forgotten."

"How about after you've gotten your chuunin vest?" Sakura offered. "That way I'll get to be surprised by your cool new moves when I'm watching the exams."

"I _guess_." Naruto pouted. "Alright, but you can't put it off after that, okay? After I've kicked everyone's butt at the exams, you better not hold back on me."

"You know I won't, Naruto."

"Good."

Naruto kept up a smile for a little while longer, but eventually Sakura saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. The boy turned back to his ramen, poking around at the meat with his chopsticks.

"Do you think he's gotten stronger too, Sakura?"

He didn't have to say it. Sakura knew he was thinking about Sasuke. "Definitely." She answered honestly. "Under Orochimaru, he'd have to be getting stronger."

"Strong enough to beat Orochimaru?"

"...I don't know."

"You're going to have to go that way eventually, aren't you Sakura? For that treaty. So...so you'll be able to check on him, right? If Orochimaru lets you in."

"That's a lot of big 'if's, Naruto." Sakura admitted with a sigh. "Trust me, I want to be able to see how Sasuke's doing, but Orochimaru knows I'm his old teammate. If I show any sign of trying to take Sasuke away from him, he'll probably try to kill me. And if he doesn't try to kill me, that'll pretty much destroy any chance I have of getting Otogakure on the treaty…"

"And why _should_ we let them join the treaty?" Naruto suddenly argued. "They _attacked_ us! Orochimaru killed the Old Man!"

"And we've warred with Iwa and Suna in the past." Sakura countered. "We've killed their shinobi, they've killed ours. This isn't about past grudges. It's about what's best for everyone."

"There's no way Orochimaru is ever going to join."

"Then I'll have tried. That's all I can do, Naruto, and you know I have to try. Even if all I get out of it is just seeing that Sasuke is okay, I have to try to talk with Orochimaru about the pact."

Naruto huffed, shoving a particularly large piece of meat into his mouth. Sakura was amused to see that his eating habits hadn't much improved since she'd left.

"Sakura, I...I don't think Sasuke is ever going to come home."

It was the last thing Sakura expected to hear out of Naruto's mouth. And she didn't want to _agree_ with him, Sasuke meant just as much to Naruto as he had to her, maybe even _more_ at this point. Sakura didn't feel that sinking, dreadful feeling when she thought of Sasuke anymore, but Naruto, at the mere mention of the name, had blown up as he always had.

"Naruto…"

"But there's somewhere else he could go to be safe. Some_one_ else he could go to. He could go with _you_, Sakura, don't you think? You're trying to bring peace, but you're also trying to warn everyone about Akatsuki. His brother is _in_ Akatsuki. You could help him kill his brother, and then he could stay with you and be an ambassador. You'll ask him, won't you? You've _gotta_ ask him!"

"Alright, alright, I'll ask him!" Sakura protested. "You don't have to tell me twice. I'll need more ambassadors anyway, if he's willing to join then you know he'll be welcome." But Sakura could almost feel in her gut what Sasuke would tell her if she'd dared ask. The Sasuke she saw last had only cared about one thing, one goal. Sakura had gotten stronger in her pursuit of peace, but would Sasuke see that?

Still, with the way Naruto was looking at her, pleading...she couldn't disappoint her old teammate. Her old _friend_.

"I'll ask him." She promised, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No matter what, I'll make sure he knows he has options. So don't worry about him, alright? You have exams to worry about."

"...yeah." Naruto agreed after a moment, nodding. "Yeah, I..I've got exams."

* * *

Days passed. Sakura began work on her speech, what she'd use to try and persuade the visiting Kages once she could gather them for a meeting. She knew now, thanks to Konan, that she was competing with Danzo for these villages' allegiance, and if she didn't sway enough of them, it could lead to another war. Sakura longed to be able to tell Tsunade about the risk, but the more she admitted, the more questions would be asked. Instead, she used her connection to Naruto to her advantage, giving Naruto advice on village security that he could in turn present to Tsunade as 'his idea'. It served to gain him some favor with his sensei, and helped put Sakura's mind at ease. If it did came to some sort of scrap, Konoha would already be far more prepared. The medical corps had been bolstered under Tsunade's rule, and their civilian evacuation protocols updated. Plus, Sakura knew for sure that there would be three villages fighting on her behalf. There was no way Onoki would turn on her, not after helping spearhead the project. Plains more than owed her a favor. And Waterfall wasn't in this for power or land. She doubted Danzo would be able to sway Shibuki, not when it had taken _Shukaku_ to sway him before.

She knew nothing of the Grass and River villages, but Sakura _did_ know Suna. They resented her for 'stealing' their Jinchuuriki, and Sakura had no doubt that they would be the hardest to sway to her cause. All Sakura could hope was that she had the right words to make them realize that _she_ hadn't stolen their Jinchuuriki, their Jinchuuriki had willingly left, and was now working for their sake as much as everyone else's. She wasn't sure who the new Kazekage was, but whoever it was, Sakura couldn't help but worry. Suna was one of the Great villages, and if Danzo ensured an alliance, that would be an enemy to be fearful of.

If Danzo could sway Grass and River to his cause as well, the scales, at least, would be perfectly balanced. One Great village, two smaller villages, and half of Konoha on each side. Sakura knew that Konan wouldn't stand with Danzo, but she might choose simply to not pick a side. But, if Sakura managed to get just one of the three villages on her side, (or in a perfect world, all three), then the scales would tip in their favor, and Danzo would be less likely to risk war. She had to move quickly and decisively to prevent bloodshed, all without letting any side know that she'd caught onto the game.

Shikamaru had likely already put much of this together, but Sakura had yet to figure out his final cryptic hint. Danzo, or someone he'd swayed, was going to ask her to _do_ something, and Shikamaru wanted her to go through with it. She didn't have a clue what it was Danzo could want from her, or why Shikamaru would want it to, but the thoughts weighed heavy on her mind as the chuunin exams drew closer and closer.

She spent her days training, mostly with Lee and his team. There was nothing wrong with getting herself in shape, in case the worst happened, and now that she was physically present, that meant Lee could show her some of his more advanced physical training. That alone was enough to keep her mind focused. While she ran, while she punched and kicked, while she did _anything_ physical it gave her time to think about her speech and the days to come.

It was during her second week in Konoha when the other villages began to arrive. It was Suna that reached them first, and like many others in the village, Sakura made her way to the front gate to great the group as they arrived. It was the first time they would be seeing the new Kazekage, and Sakura wanted to see firsthand who one of her future opponents would be.

Life didn't like to make itself easy for her. Sakura knew she'd gotten lucky in the past, but now it seemed her luck had finally begun to turn around.

How else would it have come to pass that _Gaara's sister_ was given the title Kazekage?

Temari had been a scary girl even when Sakura had first seen her a year ago. But that was nothing compared to how Temari looked at her and Gaara now, sending off enough loathing and killing intent to make her shiver. There was no _way_ she was going to be able to persuade Temari, not when things were oh so personal for her. Gaara was her brother _and_ the village Jinchuuriki. Temari was the one who had put her trust in Sakura, and Sakura had broken that trust.

"We're _fucked._" Sakura whispered to her companions.

"We're doomed." Gaara agreed.

"Glad to know the two of you finally agree with me." Sai added, his fake smile contrasting to their downtrodden faces.

Sakura couldn't even find the energy to quip back. As far as she saw it now, Suna was in Danzo's hands. If she couldn't sway Grass and River to her way of thinking, war was inevitable.

_Shikamaru...I hope you know what you're doing._


	49. Chapter 49

It had now been raining for two weeks straight.

Sakura couldn't help but take it as a bad sign. She'd never seen so much rain in Konoha in all her life, and even though it came down softly, it never seemed to stop. Sakura had gotten used to walking around her village with a light layer of Gaara's sand above them, though even Gaara admitted that he had to cycle his sand constantly to prevent it from becoming a shower of mud. Sakura remembered hearing that it was constantly raining in Amegakure (which made sense, given the name), and she wondered at times if it was Konan's influence. Either way, the rain made everything seem far more depressing.

It hadn't all been bad, however. Eventually Onoki arrived and she was able to greet her old sensei again, as well as bring him up to speed with all that had happened since she'd left him. (Not quite everything, of course, but what had happened in Taki was not a secret at this point.) It had brought her a bit of comfort to hear Onoki laugh and laugh over her encounter with Itachi. He'd patted her on the back and simply told her: "As expected of my student." His confidence in her, even now, was something of a grounding point. Perhaps one of the few grounding points she had as she prepared to speak with eight of the most important shinobi on the continent.

The chuunin exams were due to begin the day after her meeting with the Kage. Watching her friends train for the affair was a decent enough distraction, especially once she _really_ saw how Naruto, Ino, and Chouji worked as a team under Shikamaru's lead. Sakura saw Naruto in a way she had never seen him before, effortlessly working back to back with a team that he trusted with his life. It brought almost a dull ache to her heart; in all her time with Naruto and Sasuke on Team Seven, they'd never worked so flawlessly. Maybe it was inevitable that they had grown apart. Had Sasuke found a team of his own in Otogakure, others that had had gotten more attached to in his time away from Konoha? Or had he wallowed in isolation, so far gone in Orochimaru's influence that he didn't even recognize anymore what it was like to have friends?

She would bring Root to justice. And then she would see for herself what Sasuke had become.

On the day of her meeting, Sakura wore her armor. Not to intimidate, but to show, on some level, that she was capable. She had nothing else to bring with her to the meeting but her reputation and her words, and though word _had_ spread of her ability to face down Itachi Uchiha and live, she had no doubt word had spread of her other deeds. Aiding a Suna rebellion, 'stealing' the Suna Jinchuuriki...all things she would have to justify, or else hope could be spoken around.

At the very least, she looked the part of a kunoichi. No one would be able to say that a timid little girl was walking into this meeting. Sakura, nerves aside, would walk with her head held high. She was an Ambassador, a student of the Tsuchikage, and the Girl who Undid the Sharingan.

She prayed to whatever god might be listening that it would be enough.

There was a building, sequestered away from Konoha proper and buried beneath layers of security. There were more seals than Sakura had ever seen in her life, and more Anbu guards than she'd known existed in the village. The building itself consisted only of a single room, and inside was a large, round table. Here the Kage could sit and discuss as equals.

Sakura was not allowed in at first. There were formalities to uphold, especially as two of the Kage were newly elected and another of the Kage hadn't met ever met with the others before. Introductions needed doing, as well as a bit of time to clear the air. Sand and Plains were one step away from being at war with each other, and Sakura could only hope that they could make a bit of progress on their own before she was forced into the lion's den.

Sakura took her time to go over each Kage in her mind, and what she knew.

Onoki was perhaps the one she knew the most about. He would be an ally, but he also had appearances to maintain. If she spoke stupidly, he wouldn't defend her. If she acted out of place, he would not intervene. Onoki had spearheaded this project, but he wasn't foolish. This was Sakura's chance to rise or fall, and he wasn't going to push or pull either way.

Shibuki was firmly in her court, but Sakura had promises to uphold. She would have to speak up for the rights of the Bijuu, for better treatment of Jinchuuriki, or else Taki would withdraw. It wouldn't be difficult to bring the topic up, but Sakura knew it would be met with resistance.

Tsunade also had held her to a promise. Sakura would bring up various medical proposals, as well as tentatively breach the subject of higher age standards for genin. _That_ would definitely be met with resistance, but Sakura would keep her word. Tsunade hadn't insisted these demands be met immediately, only that they be pushed for consistently, and that Sakura could do.

Satomi, the new leader of Plains, already stood in her court as well. Sakura realized she had a bit of leverage over Plains, seeing as she helped put Satomi in charge, which meant that Satomi really _couldn't_ speak out against her.

Konan was an enigma, but Sakura knew enough to at least guarantee that Konan would not align herself with Danzo. In terms of the neutrality pact, however, Sakura still had no idea where Rain stood. It was just as likely that she would join as it was that she would decline, but even if her decline wouldn't hurt Sakura _now_, it might help dissuade others from getting on board.

And that left those other three Kage that Sakura had to sway.

Temari was likely to be the biggest problem. Gaara, despite being her brother, did not know her as well as Sakura would have liked, but that could be blamed on the fact that Gaara hadn't really been close to anyone before Sakura. What Gaara did know was that Temari was ruthless in her own way, and more than capable of holding a grudge. The only reason that Sand had stayed allied with Leaf was because Sand believed reparations were owed due to Orochimaru infiltrating them and forcing them to war. In any other scenario, if any other shinobi were with her, Sakura knew Sand would likely have no issue agreeing to the pact. But because it was her and _Gaara_, it was now personal with Suna, and even more personal with Temari.

Takeshi was the next problem. The Grass village shinobi were known for being shrewdly diplomatic, and at first Sakura had hoped that they would take to the pact because of this. But she had learned in her readings that when a village referred to something as 'diplomatic', they more often than not meant 'manipulative'. Grass was a small village, often the site of war whenever the larger countries got into spats, and had learned to wield their words as weapons so that they could play ally to both sides and come out with less damage for it. Even if she could sway Takeshi to her side, Sakura couldn't be certain he wasn't _also_ playing nice with Danzo.

Finally came Ogano of the Village Hidden in Valleys. (An alliterative mouthful to be sure, and due to this the village was just as often referred to as the River village, for that was the country in which the village resided.) The village was known for being turncoat when it benefited them most, and all Sakura knew of Ogano was that he was a 'shrew of a man', and that no outsider could trust his word to be true.

So Sakura was against two Kage who were just as likely to turn on her as join with her, and one Kage who hated her guts. A lion's den indeed.

As she finished going through her thoughts, an Anbu approached her, and it was time.

With Gaara and Sai at her flank, Sakura allowed herself to be escorted into the room. All eyes were on her as she approached, and Sakura could see from just a glance that tensions were already high. Tsunade had the look on her face that she'd often got when Naruto was a bit too rambunctious around her, and Onoki's frown appeared as though it had been permanently chiseled onto his face.

Excellent. Just _excellent_.

There were three open chairs at the table, but Sakura did not allow herself to sit yet. Formalities, she had to remember formalities. She bowed deeply towards the center of the table, towards all of the Kage and yet none specifically.

"Good afternoon. My name is Sakura Haruno and I am here to speak with each of you regarding my Neutrality Project."

Silence, briefly. Then, from one of them, laughter. Sakura recognized the man as Ogano, who really _did_ look like a shrew of a man at a closer glance. He was older, perhaps Tsunade's age, and wore deep blue garments that Sakura had learned were the official village colors. She could see all manner of weaponry on the man's person; River had a village known as the Takumi Village, and it was well known for exporting high quality shinobi gear. It made sense that the region's leader would also be properly outfitted.

"_This_ is the one?" Ogano finally spoke, still shaking with laughter as he did so. "This pipsqueak here is Onoki's disciple? This must be some sort of joke. She looks like a light breeze might blow her over."

There was chuckling from the man next to him, who had to be Takeshi. He wore a wide-brimmed hat, and otherwise wore non-descript black clothing. He was a man who gave off the impression of not wanting to stand out, to blend in...and with how he mimicked Ogano, that only confirmed Sakura's impression.

Temari too seemed amused by Ogano's declaration, and the other Kage in the room remained silent. Waiting for her to respond.

Sakura took a deep breath, but before she could speak up, someone else did.

"If you are simply here to trade petty insults, than you might as well not be here at all. I had thought Kage were supposed to be above such behavior."

To Sakura's surprise, _Sai_ had been the one to speak up, all the while keeping up that serene fake smile she had come to associate with him. She watched as Ogano sputtered, clearly not expecting such a blunt statement out of the boy.

"H-How dare-"

"Quiet." Gaara spoke up next, his voice taking on a deep echo that seemed to fill the entire room. "Sakura is speaking now."

Sakura couldn't see how Gaara looked now, but she knew firsthand how intimidating the Jinchuuriki could be. Whatever Ogano saw on Gaara's face, it was enough to quiet him. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw a smirk growing on Onoki's face.

This was...this was _okay_. She wasn't doing this _alone_, Gaara and Sai had apparently each decided to take on their own roles in full. They were ambassadors as well. They had just as much voice as she.

Sakura took a deep breath and sat down.

"Alright. Shall I begin with outlining the tenants of the treaty?"

* * *

Sakura had practiced her speech until she could recite it in her sleep.

She started with the necessity of peace. War had not been kind to any country, and further spats in the future would only ever be to the villages' detriment. She made sure to mention exterior threats too. Akatsuki was the most major of these threats, and Sakura believed it was paramount to her argument to emphasize that Akatsuki was full of S-ranked shinobi who were actively seeking out Bijuu. She could name at least half of them and describe what they were capable of, thanks to her own experiences and information provided about Kakuzu and Zetsu from Shibuki. If the villages remained in uneasy division, it would be all too easy for an organization like Akatsuki to pull them apart and seize control for themselves.

Interestingly, Konan seemed the most interested in what Sakura had to say about Akatsuki. She took down notes and questioned her extensively, and of course _every_ Kage listened intently when Sakura described her confrontation with Itachi. Sakura had made the decision early on to not let on to her ignorance as to how she escaped Itachi's genjutsu. She simply made the claim that she had a knack for breaking genjutsu, and while a Sharingan was intimidating, it was not unbeatable. (She had come to the conclusion that appearing more confident on the matter than she was would only serve to benefit her.)

There was the matter of the Taki demons too, and while several of the people present scoffed at first, their attitudes changed when Shibuki offered to let any of them examine one of the captive demons that he had brought with him to Konoha. That, the Kage would have to do on their own time, and Sakura hoped that being able to _see_ that the demons were real would help further her own cause.

From there, Sakura went into the details of the pact. There were core tenants which would apply to every village that signed on, as well as the possibility for addendums. This was the moment that Sakura chose to bring forth the amendments that Shibuki and Tsunade had insisted upon. She started first with Tsunade's; the idea of sharing medical knowledge across villages was an appealing one, especially to the smaller villages who likely did not have as much medical support. Raising the age standard for genin was a statement that was met with a couple of scoffs, as well as a direct protest from Temari.

"Under those laws, I wouldn't be Kage. A shinobi is an adult from the moment they are able to represent their village. If you're worried about fighting _children_, perhaps it is because you're worried what losing to a child would do to your village's reputation."

"I don't worry about losing to children. I worry about the permanent damage that can be inflicted upon a child's stability due to undergoing the stresses of war at a critical age."

"Big words from you, Leaf Princess." Ogano retorted. "Was it not true that until quite recently you fell apart at the mere sight of blood? And yet here you stand, now head of your village. Clearly the effects on one's psyche are not as severe as you would have us believe."

Sakura could practically see Tsunade's blood boiling at this. It was a clever move on Ogano's parts. It not only dismissed the pact, but also threw doubt over Tsunade's capability as a Hokage. There was an implication beneath the words that Tsunade could _still_ fall apart at the sight of blood, there was no way of truly knowing she had recovered yet.

Sakura spoke before Tsunade could be drawn into a fist fight. "At this moment in time, Lord Ogano and Lady Temari, your opinions do not matter on this addendum. Unless, of course, you are suggesting that you are considering signing the pact?"

"Hardly." Ogano replied. "But do continue. I find this talk quite amusing."

Sakura chose to ignore the comment. She couldn't let the man rile her up, which was clearly his intent.

"Finally, I would like to discuss a proposal involving bequeathing citizen rights to Bijuu, as well as protections for them and their hosts against village discrimination."

This got another laugh out of Ogano. "So we're giving rights to monsters next? I doubt they're even sentient enough to appreciate the sentiment. Next you'll be asking we give citizen rights to tornadoes or earthquakes."

"Then it is clear, Lord Ogano, that you are coming from quite the place of ignorance involving Bijuu."

"So that's it, then."

Temari spoke, and this time Sakura could _feel_ the hostility leaking off of her, _feel_ the killing intent.

"So this is how you justify _stealing_ our Jinchuuriki. If you're a vocal advocate for their rights, then it paints you as the good girl, rescuing the poor Jinchuuriki from the terrible village."

"I wasn't _stolen_." Gaara replied. "I willingly joined with this project-"

"And in doing so crippled our village and aided in a rebellion that has shrunk our borders considerably." Temari snapped. "I don't know why you've even bothered to try to rope Suna into this. It is clear that you have been our enemy since day one, and any Kage in this room should be considering what it is that Haruno intends to steal from _them_ next."

"And personal grudges aside…" Takeshi finally spoke up, leaning forward onto the table. "What guarantee do we have that you will be able to enforce such a pact? Any village could sign this and simply do as they willed while your back was turned. Or even in plain view of you. A Jinchuuriki might be intimidating, sure, but one Jinchuuriki cannot control an entire village, let alone eight of them. And as for you, Haruno, as Ogano stated before…I am not impressed."

"And what would it take to impress you then, Lord Takeshi?" Sakura challenged. "I feel as though no matter who sat in this chair, you would doubt their ability to maintain order. If you feel so little towards my capabilities to maintain this pact, then there is no harm in you signing it. As you say, if it is so easy to act while my back is turned, then signing this would only benefit you. You would have access to exclusive trade routes, information, all these things while not having to worry about actually upholding your end of the bargain."

"Perhaps so." Takeshi agreed. "But my point still stands. Why you, over so many other more capable shinobi? How do we know you are capable of upholding order?"

"...you don't." Sakura answered. "You don't know. But if you don't give the opportunity to prove myself to you, you'll never know."

"Then I say we give her an opportunity."

Ogano's smile sent a shiver down her spine, and Shikamaru's words came to her.

"_Danzo...either he or someone under his influence is going to ask you to do something in the coming weeks…"_

"The chuunin exams start tomorrow. That is the real reason all of us have gathered here. If Haruno thinks herself capable of playing peacekeeper between eight shinobi nations, then getting through the exams should not pose a challenge at all for her and her little team. And that would give us a chance to see if her battle skills live up to the rumors going around. I think we should see the little ambassadors participate."

Sakura felt her blood run cold. "The _exams_?" She managed to spit out. "Surely you're joking. We have organizations like Akatsuki working against us and you want me to waste my time taking the _exams_?"

"Are you worried you will fail?"

"That's not the _point_-"

"I agree with Lord Ogano." Temari spoke up. "Let her participate. If she dies, then we won't have to worry about any of this anymore, and Gaara will return to where he belongs."

"It might not be as much of a waste of time as you think, Sakura." Onoki added. "As silly as it sounds, none of these fools will recognize your talent unless they see it themselves. The exams should hold no problem for my disciple."

Sakura bit her bottom lip. This was stupid, this _was_ a waste of time, and she couldn't possibly see why…

Oh.

Temari had said it. Temari had just as much _admitted_ it.

In the chuunin exams, it was common for a handful of shinobi to die attempting them. Danzo had placed the idea in Ogano's mind. Danzo _wanted_ Sakura to participate. Danzo was expecting her to _die_ participating. Legally, which would mean that Gaara and Sai would have no means of retaliating, and from there…

As Konan had told her, it would be 'Konoha's resurrection'. Whatever Danzo had planned, Sakura would be unable to interfere if she was dead.

And for whatever reason, Shikamaru had known he would do this, and more importantly, _wanted_ Sakura to play along.

"Fine." Sakura agreed. "Me and my fellow ambassadors will participate in the exams. And once they are done, I hope you will reconsider my proposal. For now, it appears that I have some preparing to do."

Sakura stood, Gaara and Sai with her, and gave a final, curt bow before turning to leave.


	50. Coming Storm (Intermission Part Nine)

Konoha is cold and wet and irritating. And maybe that is why its people are so damn _annoying_. Growing up in this sort of environment would make anyone miserable, and miserable people were miserable to deal with. The last time Temari had set foot in Konoha, it hadn't been quite so depressing. Colder than Wind Country, yes, but not this downpour that had been going on ever since she'd arrived.

"It's a drag for sure." The Nara, Shikamaru, was one of the only people Temari found remotely agreeable in this country, and even _he_ was tiresome in his own way. "It never rains this much here. My mom keeps saying it's those people from Rain that dragged it in."

"Wouldn't doubt it." Temari replied. "They say it's always raining in Ame."

"Probably just rumor. The land would flood if it rained this much all the time."

"There's always rumor coming from there. They call the Amekage an 'Angel of God'."

Shikamaru frowned. "Are all Kage that full of themselves?"

"_I'm_ a Kage too, in case you forgot."

"Point stands." Shikamaru's frown turned into a tiny smirk. Temari couldn't help but smirk back in reply. The boy had grown some guts, at least, since the last time she'd seen him, and he was more than willing to participate in some of the harsher banter that she was used to dealing with in Suna.

(She'd made Danzo promise, when the dust had settled, that he'd leave the Nara boy alive.)

Shikamaru was an escort, _her_ escort specifically while she stayed in Konoha. Konoha wasn't foolish enough to let foreigners walk around freely, not after the last exam had led to such a devastating invasion. Temari felt a small pang of guilt knowing what was to come. Konoha was prepared enough to deal with foreign invasion when it was united, but it was nowhere _near_ prepared enough for a schism from within. Danzo had been counting on that.

In that regard, she was glad Shikamaru had been promoted to chuunin. If he wasn't _in_ the exams, no risk of harm.

_Too attached_, Temari told herself. _At the end of the day he's just another Konoha soldier. Another potential enemy._

Shikamaru left her and her bodyguards' sides once she arrived at the small building that had been reserved for her people. There were several genin teams all staying in their own quarters; a show, for the most part, as it wouldn't particularly matter who did well in the exams and who didn't. But more importantly than the genin team were several of her village elders, who were as of now gathered in a small room, huddled around several scrolls. They had come on the premise of 'wanting to watch their village thrive in the exams', but really they were here for a more secret purpose.

One of them, an older woman by the name of Chiyo, looked to Temari expectantly as she joined them. "It is nearly done." She announced as she funneled chakra into the scroll. "If Danzo's people can't figure out the rest from here, then they deserve to fail."

"Is it really so simple?" Temari questioned, kneeling down to example the sealwork being written by another elder. "I had thought Shukaku's seal was meant to _prevent_ precisely this from happening."

"Don't insult me, you young brat. I was the one who crafted the seal to begin with. If there is anyone alive who can make this happen, it is _me_."

"...yes, I suppose that is true." Temari couldn't stop a small pang of worry from sounding in her own voice. What this would do...Temari had never been one to hesitate when it came to war, and considering that they had intended for similar consequences to occur the _last_ time they invaded, she shouldn't have felt worried at all. But this time _was_ different. Gaara was not with them. Once these scrolls were activated, Gaara wouldn't be…

But who was _she_ to talk? She and Gaara had never been _close_. Temari forced herself to think of the Gaara of her childhood, the one who revelled in killing and bloodshed, the one who was as much a monster _outside_ as he was inside.

Remembering that always helped steel her resolve towards him.

Tomorrow would be a big day, and Temari needed rest.

She made her way to her bedroom, where she was grateful to be allowed some time to herself. Not completely alone, of course, not ever; her bodyguards were just outside and Danzo had assured her his agents would always watch for threats outside. But she was _Kage_ now, which meant she'd probably never really be truly alone ever again. Suna refused to let another Orochimaru incident occur. No matter how strong she became, Temari would never stop looking over her shoulder, and neither would the rest of Suna.

She refused to dress down in a foreign country; her clothes were as much armor as they were a statement of proper Suna fashion, and she would be a fool to remove protection. So as she made her way to her bed, she simply laid herself down on top of the covers, not caring if her shoes dirtied the pristine Konoha sheets.

She laid her fan against the bed before leaning back and closing her eyes.

She got all of five minutes of rest before _energy_ appeared, energy that was dark and familiar and terrifying all in one. Danzo's agents apparently weren't completely good enough to stop a Jinchuuriki from coming through her bedroom window. Temari wasn't surprised. Gaara was, _still _was, the strongest shinobi she knew.

"Temari."

"Gaara."

She opened her eyes and sat up, not wanting to appear weak in front of her brother who was now the _enemy_. Temari pushed down her emotions and put on a face of discontent.

"I don't think your pretty little friend will fare well if everyone hears her pet is breaking into the Kazekage's room."

"I want to talk, Temari."

"Fantastic." Temari rolled her eyes. "You're a few months late to a talk, but I'm sure we can fix Suna's problems with a friendly chat between siblings."

"You're angry."

"_Obviously_! You _left_ us, took our village's strongest weapon with you, and then went and spearheaded a _coup_ at our northern borders! All because little miss Haruno batted her eyes and pretended to be your _friend_, now Suna is weakened, and it's only a matter of time before Plains or Grass start pushing at our defenses and seeing how much they can take!"

"Plains had formed before Sakura and I arrived there." Gaara retorted. "Father was dead. Our numbers thinned. Me leaving changed none of that."

"That doesn't change the fact that-"

"You don't want to be Kazekage."

Temari blinked in shock as Gaara spoke over her. "You _never_ wanted to be Kazekage." Gaara continued. "You saw what it did to Father. Did to our family. You wanted to raise a family without worrying about them being used for Suna's purpose. Kankuro too. None of us. I remember what you said back then. Even then, I listened."

"What does it matter?" Temari replied. "We needed a Kage. Someone had to step up."

"Offer the title to Satomi."

"What, the _Plains_ girl?" Temari hissed. "She's a _rebel_."

"She leads the rebels. If she's Kazekage, the rebels rejoin Suna. There would be no more Plains."

"Don't think you can manipulate me. You want Satomi in charge because then Suna would go along with your little pact."

"No."

"Don't _lie_ to me."

"You're my sister."

And then Gaara _looked_ at her, only it was a different look than Temari had ever seen on the boy's face before. He was _pleading_ with her, she could see the begging in his eyes, the desperation. So much emotion all at once, so much that Temari thought she might be hallucinating. Gaara had never shown this much dedication or resolve, this much _passion_ for something.

(Temari wondered if maybe, just maybe, it was _Suna_ that had been holding him back.)

"You're my sister." Gaara repeated. "Maybe we've never held any love for each other, but I would rather not turn against my family. I've...already done that once."

Temari remembered their uncle, Yashamaru, founded crushed and bloodied on a rooftop. Father had claimed Yashamaru had been sent to test Gaara's mastery over Shukaku. She didn't know what that test had been, only that she had lost an _uncle_. Gaara had went cold ever since that day, cold and brutal and savage.

But now, when she looked at Gaara, she saw only regret.

This brought anger to the forefront of her mind. _Now_ Gaara chose to have regrets, _now_ when it was so damned inconvenient for everyone?

(She didn't have an _uncle_ because of him. She didn't have a _mother_ because of him.)

"Please, Temari. Suna won't suffer if you listen to Sakura. If everyone is being held to an agreement, Suna won't _need_ Shukaku, and-"

"Get out." Temari whispered. "Gaara, just...get out."

She couldn't deal with it. The emotional whiplash. Seeing Gaara so secure in himself now, feeling herself so insecure.

_He could break any moment_, Chiyo had told her. _Shukaku loves worming his way into people's minds and tearing them apart from the inside. How long before he turns on the Haruno girl and brings everything to dust around him?_

"Temari…"

He was a monster, Temari reminded herself. A monster who had learned how to smile. A monster who was learning _empathy_.

He killed their mother and uncle. And now she was going to kill her _brother_.

"It's too late." She insisted with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry, Gaara, but it's _too late_."

"It wasn't too late for me."

Their eyes met and lingered for a moment, silence falling over the room. Then, in a small flurry of sand, Gaara was gone.

Temari didn't know how much time passed before she found the will to push herself to her feet. She burst through the door of her room, running down the stairs and pulling open the door to the elders' quarters with a huff.

"Lady Temari?" One of the elders looked to her in confusion. "What's the matter?"

"The scrolls-"

"We just passed them over to Lord Danzo." Chiyo confirmed. "I told you not to worry, child. Everything is in place now."

Temari felt the air around her grow cold. Wordlessly, she returned to her room.

It was too late.

_It was too late_.

* * *

Rule number twenty five of the shinobi code: a shinobi must _never_ show their tears.

Thankfully, in this heavy downpour of rain, there was nobody around to notice.

It was only after being away from Konoha for so long that Kakashi realized just how ingrained this habit of his was, visiting the memorial stone upon which Rin and Obito's names were engraved. During his time in Iwa, he often found himself wandering in search of it, only to turn up lost somewhere deep within the village. It garnered a bit of negative attention at first, but Kakashi managed to turn it around and give everyone the impression that he simply liked to wander. (Though he noticed rather quickly that there was nowhere in Iwa that he went without hidden escort.) During those wanderings, Kakashi came across countless other memorial stones, and it sunk in then just how _many_ shinobi had died during the last war, many of which had been killed at the hands of himself and his sensei. It had been admittedly sobering, and since he did not have his home's memorial to spend time with, Kakashi ended up spending time with Iwa's memorials instead. He read the names, over and over again until he could recite many of them in his sleep. Names of shinobi who had been like Rin and Obito. Shinobi who were like _Sakura_.

(Kakashi hadn't been invested in Sakura's neutrality pact before then. But standing in front of the Iwa memorial stones then..._that_ had been the push.)

And now he was home and routine came back to him as easily as breathing. His companions weren't _buried_ here of course; it was merely a memorial. Rin had been given over to her family, and Obito…

_They never found the body._

Sakura had come to him time and time again with her thoughts and theories about the Kyuubi attack fourteen years prior. She was stuck on one particular thought involved Uchiha Madara. (_They never found the body, did they?_) Eyes could be transferred; Kakashi was the proof. Was someone walking around with Madara's Sharingan? Or perhaps, even less likely of course, was Madara alive after all this time, walking around, scheming?

_They never found Obito's __**body**__. _

But Obito's body had been _crushed_, there was no possible way anyone could have retrieved Obito from there, let alone an intact Sharingan. It was far more likely that someone was walking around with Madara's eyes, as far fetched of a concept as that sounded. But the thought tugged and nagged at Kakashi's mind, even if it was just the sinking realization that, for all his posturing and all his mourning, _he never went back to retrieve Obito's body_.

Another thing he'd missed. Another _failure_.

Sakura was participating in the chuunin exams now. It was impossible to miss _that_ news. The Kage meeting had gone poorly, that much was clear, but she had been given an opportunity to prove herself. She'd trained under the Tsuchikage, fought off _Itachi Uchiha_, so why was Kakashi so damn _worried_?

Something was wrong. Things weren't adding up. There was something going on behind the scenes, something he'd _missed_. Something they'd _all_ been missing.

...or maybe he was just a paranoid wreck.

But it was the paranoia that had kept him alive all these years.

Paranoia and...a secret.

Kakashi lifted up his headband, exposing his Sharingan eye to the wind and rain. The Sharingan was always active; maybe it was a result of being implanted, or maybe he'd just never figured out how to turn it off. It was a constant strain on his chakra, but as a result his chakra reserves had grown to match, until now it was barely a trickle on his energy. He squinted through the rain until he spotted an errant branch on a tree nearby, with one or two leaves haphazardly grown into its wood. Then...Kakashi focused. It was different than using the Sharingan to copy. It required flexing his eye in a way he wasn't sure anyone else could flex. He felt something in his eye _move_, and then, all at once, _it_ happened.

The space around the branch warped and _pulled_, sucking in the branch and leaves until it cut off the tree with a 'snap' and disappeared.

Kakashi stop flexing and took a deep breath. _That_ pulled on his chakra reserves, as much as an A-rank jutsu would, and it sometimes _hurt_ to do. Today, there was no pain, only exhaustion. The portal had been too small to cause pain.

He wasn't sure how he'd learned this ability. He'd never seen Sasuke use it, though not for lack of watching and prodding, and his one lead, Itachi, had never used such an ability either. But Kakashi remembered facing Itachi that day, seeing the tomoe in his eyes spin and lock together into an entirely different shape. A _different_ Sharingan. A more powerful one.

Madara, Sakura had told him, had been capable of controlling the Kyuubi with his eyes. A feat no other Uchiha had replicated.

But Itachi had unlocked an ability that had never been registered in Konoha's database of Sharingan knowledge, that strange 'Tsukuyomi' that had distorted time and subjected him to the worst torture he'd ever experienced. And now _he_ had unlocked an ability, not similar to the Tsukuyomi, but equally unique. An ability that he'd used to get him out of tight spaces in battle, but an ability he didn't dare reveal to anyone else, not yet, not until he knew what it was and _why_.

Sharingan could evolve. But Kakashi didn't know how he'd _done_ it, and now the only two Uchiha left alive who could tell him were missing-nin.

With a sigh, Kakashi pulled down his headband. It was a dead end, seemingly, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking about it. Not when it might be a _clue_.

The wind shifted, and Kakashi shivered, which was strange. The cold usually didn't bother him, but something…

_Something_.

_Something in the trees_…

As he turned to look, a flash of green greeted him, and Kakashi was face to face with Gai. "Kakashi! My eternal rival!" The man announced, his boisterous voice breaking Kakashi's thought bubble completely. "I admire your persistence in honoring your fallen comrades in such a downpour, but your vigil will have to end here."

"I'm not really in the mood to spar right now, Gai."

"Well, that is good!" Gai replied, his trademark grin glistening even in the rain. "Because we jounin have been called for a meeting with Hokage, and I have no doubt she would protest to us coming in with fists flying."

"Ah." Kakashi let out a small sigh of relief. Just a meeting. Before the chuunin exams, it was to be expected. "Thanks for getting me, then."

"But that does not mean we cannot have a friendly race on the way to the Hokage's quarters!"

"...right." An even deeper sigh made its way from his lungs. "A race. Of course."

Kakashi put on an air of annoyance, but in actuality, he was grateful. Gai, above everyone else in the village, was truly the best at the _one_ thing Kakashi could never figure out how to do for himself.

Distraction.

* * *

The rain fell on the memorial stone for several minutes after Kakashi left. The water ran down the firm rock, pooling below until the dirt beneath it was so soaked that it was beginning to form a small puddle. Quietly, a dark figure landed, his presence not even disturbed the water at his feet.

Obito put his hand to the memorial stone, running his fingers along it until he came to a stop at his own name.

Obito Uchiha. He had not heard his name in years, not since he had taken up the mantle of Madara. He ran his fingers over each engraved letter, repeating the name in his mind until it ceased to be anything but syllables on stone. It had been so long, _so long_ since anyone had said his name, that he wondered if it was even his own anymore.

Seeing Kakashi here had been a vindication. _See what you have wrought_, Obito thought to himself, his hand moving upwards to rest on Rin's name. _Remember what you did. Remember who you killed. You swore to protect her and now she's just a name on a rock that only you ever visit. _

It wouldn't matter soon. Already the preparations for making a brand new world of peace had begun. Madara's plan was in motion. It would be only a month longer before the containment was ready, funded by revenue from Amegakure and efficient bounty hunting handled by the other members of Akatsuki. Nagato had been pushed and prodded until he was set on course to bring the plan to fruition, and one everything was in place…

Obito would become God, and God would put the world into eternal, blissful sleep.

There was just one bump in the road.

The girl, Sakura Haruno, who had broken into the Uchiha compound and challenged him, challenged _Itachi_, threatened to weave the _world_ together without promise of godhood or eternity. It wouldn't work, of course, not with men like Danzo pulling strings from the background, but that someone else was willing to try and break the wheel that the world spun upon was both admirable and _threatening_.

And she'd been _Kakashi's_ student, no less.

A small part of him wanted to see just how far Sakura was capable of taking her little plan. A part of him wanted to see her _break_, wanted to see her fall apart as _he_ had and realize that there was only one way, only one _answer_, and that was to bend the world to one's will with strength and technique.

And she had power. Obito could practically taste it. Something about the way her chakra ran across her skin, as if it wasn't even hers but something _alive_ that had just chosen to reside in her body. He'd never seen chakra like that before, never _felt_ chakra like that, something that had _forced_ its way into his mind that night when he had seen her visage in his reflection. A bloodline technique, it had to be, and whatever it was had given her the power to resist the pull of a Mangekyo Sharingan. It was as if her chakra was _alive_.

_And she hadn't even seen fit to use it against him that night, not even as his kunai dug into her skin, not even as he dragged her partner to the other side of the Kamui._

Not that she'd needed to. Had she known, then, what throwing the Fourth Hokage's kunai was invoke in him? There was no way she could have _possibly_ known, it was coincidence made weapon, but she had not hesitated in striking while the iron was hot. Sakura did not hesitate. She saw a chance and took it. She'd need to, if she wanted to change the world.

How funny, Obito thought, that Kakashi's own student would be far more similar to _him_.

She was Plan B, Obito decided then and there. Plan B when all else failed. Madara had come to him when age overcame him, knowing that he could pass on his plan to another who was just as worthy. If the worst came to pass, Sakura…

Sakura would make this new world. And she would make it _right_. She would make it _his_ way.

All he had to do was make her see. Make her understand. And already Danzo was doing it for him. Tomorrow the chuunin exams would begin.

Tomorrow the Ichibi Jinchuuriki would die and Shukaku would be in _his_ hands. Tomorrow Root would overtake Konoha and deal with the traitor that had left for Sakura's side.

Sakura would lose everything.

And then, truly then…

She'd be just like him.

* * *

The rain followed her, always. It was a sign from Nagato. A blessing, some might call it. Proof that he was always there watching over her. He'd promised it to Yahiko, after all, that he would keep her safe, and Nagato had kept his promise to him in full. Konan was a capable kunoichi, one did not become Amekage by being weak, but she knew that if her own strength ever failed, Nagato would be there.

The shinobi of Ame viewed him as a deity. Konan could never see Nagato that way, not having grown up alongside him, seeing him as a child, but she could see why _others_ would come to view him as such. The Rinnegan had only ever been seen before in the Sage of Six Paths, who _was_ revered as a deity by many shinobi. Nagato was the next coming of the Sage. That he should be revered as such was only proper.

Even now, the three genin that Konan had brought with her to Konoha prayed to Nagato's image. Well...no, it wasn't truly Nagato. If anything it was Yahiko they prayed to, his flesh made into a vessel of Nagato's will. They'd brought a makeshift shrine with them to Konoha, and in the center of it was a depiction of Yahiko. The genin bowed and asked for God's protection in the coming days. They asked for strength to succeed in the exams. They asked for courage to do what needed to be done.

Konan sometimes wished _she_ had a god to pray to. When your best friend was God, where did that leave you?

An Angel, Ame told her. A messenger of God. A divine protector.

(Sometimes Hidan called her a blasphemer, and she had to fight to keep herself from laughing. She was more inclined to agree with him than with the shinobi of Ame.)

Her shinobi prayed, and instead of praying Konan wrote, the same message over and over on different strips of paper. Each one she folded perfectly into the shape of a bird, and as she ran her chakra over the paper, the wings flapped and the paper bird came to life. Her chakra would protect it for two days, which was more than enough time for it to soar through the air, high into the clouds, and then come back down to Konan's intended recipient. Sakura Haruno had learned far too much of Akatsuki in her time abroad, and their people needed to be wary. Nagato, of course, was yet unknown, and so were Deidara and Sasori, but everything else Sakura had reported with extreme accuracy. They'd slipped up. They needed to prepare.

It was unfortunate because Nagato's likely conclusion would be to kill her before she put too much together. Unfortunate, because Konan found herself _liking_ the girl. Much like Yahiko had been in his youth, so too moved Sakura, desperately trying to pull warring villages together and prevent bloodshed. Moving against Danzo too, no less, and Konan could not fault her that. If Sakura could give Danzo a taste of his own medicine, that would be vindication enough.

But the girl was young and playing with fire. Danzo moved in the shadows, twisting and turning events to his will. Sakura was too young to know how to play at a proper shinobi. She had the power, and she had a sharp mind, but it wasn't _enough_.

"Amaha. Samidare. Urin."

The three genin looked towards her, wordless and obedient. They were young, perhaps too young for battle, but that hadn't stopped _her_, so how could she stop them? The Hokage Tsunade wanted to ban child soldiers. In another universe, where Sakura was successful, would these children still be learning and growing under the safety of Ame rooftops?

The children noticed the grimace on her face and each bowed low, not wanting to displease her. Konan reached out to gently touch Urin's head. (She was the leader of the group, though it went unsaid.) "You will have a secondary objective tomorrow." She announced. "This objective is surpassed only by your continued survival. At all other costs, you will keep the girl known as Sakura Haruno safe from harm."

"Yes, my lady." The three sounded in unison. They did not look surprised to hear this objective. Rather, they looked pleased.

"I heard she wishes to end war." Amaha said aloud. "Of course God would favor her."

"If God favors her, then she will not need our help." The boy, Samidare, retorted.

"God favors her, which is why he sends _us_." Urin ended the debate with a single sentence. The three nodded as one, then returned to their prayer. Konan could not help but feel a sentiment inside her that was almost motherly in nature. These young ones were already so dedicated to Nagato's cause, so ready to follow him into making a new world of peace.

But Konan worried over this vision, worried over what the consequences might be. The Bijuu were violent creatures. She wanted to trust Nagato's ability to contain them, trust in what they had _built_, but even if they did contain the Bijuu...they would be _using_ them. Making Jinchuuriki out of the Akatsuki, maintaining world peace with an iron fist. There would be no need for war if Nagato's Nine crushed the war out of everyone. Power, Nagato had said, that was the only thing that shinobi responded to. Peace could not be born with words and promises. Peace was born through power.

He hadn't always thought that way. Konan wondered every day if such thoughts were _right_. So...she could afford to place her bets on Sakura. Sakura was the other path. If she too faltered in her way, if she too was torn apart by powerful men who only thought inwardly, then Konan would know for _sure_. Chance happens once, but twice? A trend. She would be unable to deny Nagato's words if Sakura fell _too_.

_Let her live_, Konan prayed, not to any god in particular but to the world, if it was listening. _Let her live and prove him wrong. Let her live and prove __**me**_ _wrong._

* * *

Biological manipulation was an _art_, and damn anyone that tried to insist otherwise.

Once upon a time, Orochimaru had managed to create a cell line from a single piece of bone from Hashirama Senju's corpse. The cell line had been powerful, exuding a unique chakra that had always brought a smile to Orochimaru's face whenever he'd felt it. It had killed forty-nine of the shinobi he'd injected it into, but had been taken up successfully by the fiftieth, which was as good of a success rate as anyone could have hoped for. True to form, the shinobi had been granted the power of Hashirama's Wood Release, albeit a bastardized version of it. The boy couldn't raise forests with a wave of his hand, couldn't level mountains with its power, but he could seal away a Bijuu's power and grow, at the very least, one or two decently sized trees with it. It was a pity that the cell line had been destroyed. It might have made _these_ experiments so much easier.

A single strand of hair from Kaguya Otsutsuki was a stretch to believe in, but Orochimaru knew the truth of the Zetsu creature's origin, and if anyone was capable of retaining any part of Kaguya, it was _them_. It was almost as if they had been _waiting_ for someone to come along and take it, to try and recreate what was once the most powerful being on the planet. But a single strand was barely enough to work with. With Hashirama's bone, Orochimaru had plenty of room for error. With this, he had _one_ shot. One chance to make a viable cell line. One chance to recreate the power of a goddess.

(But if he did, _oh_ if he did...his final vessel could be crafted, and he would have a power to surpass that of both Uchiha _and_ Senju.)

It required chakra, copious amounts of chakra, and a mixture that would serve as the nutrients for the cell line. Cells couldn't grow on nothing, but even then Orochimaru worried that it wouldn't be enough. What nourished a goddess, anyway? Had Kaguya ever eaten at all, or simply absorbed chakra from the air to power her body? The energy had to come from somewhere. He would have little time to figure out exactly _what_ the cells required, once they had been crafted.

Recreating a stem cell from a developed cell was, in theory, biologically impossible. Orochimaru spat on such a term. _He_ was biologically impossible in his own immortality. Jutsu made the impossible a reality. Jutsu would make Kaguya live again...even if it was only in tiny pieces.

Behind him, Kabuto stood at the ready. This jutsu had an incredibly high chance of just killing him outright, especially if Kaguya's power proved too difficult to contain. It required him to maintain perfect focus, perfect chakra control, and it required the seals he'd so carefully crafted to do their job and _not_ explode in his face.

But if this body died, he'd just take another one. Death didn't scare _him_ anymore.

Orochimaru took a deep breath and flew through several dozen hand signs. Around him, the seals began to activate. Inside the petri dish in front of him, the strand of hair began to squirm and writhe as chakra pulsed through it. Orochimaru felt a pushback then, which all but guaranteed that this _had_ to have been Kaguya's. It pushed and pushed, desperate to break free of his influence, but Orochimaru had fought this sort of battle before and knew just when to pull, just when to push back, and bit by bit he broke the strand down into its most basic elements.

That the hair was so intact after all this time was but a testament to Kaguya's power. She was said to have been immortal, if not for the fact that her sons had put her down. The DNA within the strands had not degraded over time, which was a miracle, and exactly what he needed to thread chakra through to create his new cell line. All the components were there, all the nutrients, everything…

Before his eyes, the strand seemed to fizzle to ash.

Orochimaru cursed. The pushback had suddenly stopped. A failure? It couldn't be a failure, not after all this time, how could he have _destroyed _it…

He flew forward, thrusting the petri dish beneath a microscope. His eyes searched along the plate, desperately looking back and forth until…

Until…

There it was. There it _was_.

Four beautiful, round, perfect cells. The energy that came off of them was faint, but as Orochimaru focused he could feel it there within the media.

"The Kaguya line…" He said aloud, pleasure dripping from his voice. "A success."

"Excellent, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto replied, always eager to please. "Percent confluency?"

"One percent, if that. But it will be enough. We shall treat these ones with utmost delicacy. If it truly is Kaguya's line, they will not die so easily."

The first difficult step had been completed. Now he would let the cell line grow, until he had enough to start crafting subjects for injection. If the Hashirama line had a two percent success rate, what would the rate of the line of a goddess be? It might be thousands before Orochimaru had success...but he had time. All the time in the world.

Assuming, of course, that the Akatsuki didn't _end_ it prematurely, messing around with the Bijuu as such. He would have to deal with _that_ sooner rather than later.

He would be ready for Sasuke soon. With the Uchiha blood, he stood half a chance. He didn't need to _beat_ the Akatsuki, just ensure they didn't get in his way. They maintained somewhat friendly relations for now, but he couldn't trust Pein to not butt his nose in where it didn't belong. And speaking of which…

"Don't you have a meeting soon, with Sasori?" Orochimaru questioned Kabuto.

"Ah, yes, of course." Kabuto replied.

"And you are certain he has yet to realize I have freed you of his influence?"

"Quite certain. Sasori is very confident in his jutsu, and in his superiority over you. He doesn't think for a moment that you could have bested him."

"Good. As it should be. You will report to me immediately once you are through."

"Of course, Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru turned his attention back to the cells, watching them eagerly. Pieces were coming into place. The world was turning, and he with it. Soon, he would be the most powerful shinobi to walk to planet.

Soon…

Soon.

* * *

"Sasuke Uchiha, if you stick your elbow in my rib one more time I will _rip_ off whatever I can get my hands on first."

"...hn."

It wasn't what Sasuke had expected to spend his afternoon doing. Huddling in an air vent, surrounded by Karin's seals, gazing down at a small room with no light and _copious_ amounts of dust...it was, quite frankly, beneath him. But Karin had insisted that it was important, their one way ticket to finding Itachi once Orochimaru was dealt with.

Important enough to cram themselves together for, each of them desperately searching for breathing room before whatever was to happen happened and they had to hold perfectly still. Thankfully, Sasuke didn't have much longer to wait.

Kabuto walked into the room. Sasuke recognized the man by his chakra alone; he was wearing a thick hood, and clothes that hid his figure. Behind him walked...something else. It _might_ have been a man, but it was hunched over so much that it also could have been a sentient orb. Sasuke saw a face peek out from the huddled body, and saw the aura of a living being's chakra around it...but whoever this was had fucked up his body even worse than Orochimaru had.

"In here, as usual, Lord Sasori."

"You have checked the seals?"

"Thrice over, my lord."

"Good. There is much I would hear from you."

The huddled man's robes were dark, and in the dim light Sasuke didn't see it at first, but as the man moved to the center of the room he noticed _red clouds_ on the robes and realized instantly why Karin had been so insistent that he come. This man was _Akatsuki_. He _worked_ with Itachi.

Sasuke couldn't suppress a small shiver of excitement. This was a clue. This was a _step_.

"Orochimaru still believes that he has freed me from your influence, of course." Kabuto began with a chuckle. "His ego surpasses all other shinobi. But he _has_ successfully isolated a cell line from that hair Zetsu gave him. He calls it the Kaguya line."

"This does not worry me." The man, Sasori, admitted. "He will be dead before he sees this plan to fruition. What I need to know is of a different nature."

Sasori handed a small, folded piece of paper to Kabuto. Kabuto looked over it for a while, and Sasuke wished he could glimpse even a word or two of what was on there. Thankfully, he wasn't left guessing.

"There's been an information breach, has there?" Kabuto said with a smirk. "Little Sakura Haruno's managed to name five of your nine. How _very_ interesting."

"Our leader demands that she be dealt with. It is possible that she will die in Konoha under Danzo's hands. But if she does not...she will be heading here, to Otogakure."

"Does she honestly think she can sway Orochimaru?"

"She is a naive child. So, naturally, yes."

"Now _that_ will be amusing to listen to."

"You will be prepared for her arrival. You will ensure she is detained. Then, Deidara and myself will eliminate her and retrieve the Ichibi for our organization." There was a strange clacking sound as the man turned towards the door. A sound almost like wood rubbing together. "Is this understood?"

"Yes, Lord Sasori. Everything will be ready for you, should this come to pass."

Sasori left. Kabuto lingered for a couple of minutes, reading over the paper in silence. Then, he too left.

Sasuke let out the breath he had been holding.

"How long?" Sasuke asked. "How long has he been a double agent?"

"Oh, it gets deeper than that." Karin replied with a chuckle. "He's got his own story so warped I can't tell _who_ he's working for. He tells Orochimaru that Sasori doesn't know where his loyalties lie. He tells Sasori that Orochimaru doesn't know where his loyalties lie. He's very good. And he's been this good for as long as I've known him. It doesn't matter which one of them comes out on top, he'll always have been loyal to them this entire time."

"So where do we come in?"

"I just thought of it, actually. Oh, it's the _perfect_ way to take Orochimaru down a peg too. Orochimaru uses Kabuto like a crutch. He _needs_ a skilled medic-nin to make sure his body doesn't collapse under all that weird experimentation. But what if he learns that Kabuto really _isn't_ his double agent?"

"He wouldn't let Kabuto live." Sasuke concluded.

"And then Orochimaru is without the 'help'. All we have to do is wait for that Haruno girl to get her ass over here, and Orochimaru is as good as dead."

"Her name is Sakura." Sasuke insisted, trying his best to ignore the pit that grew in his stomach at the mention of her name. _Akatsuki wants her dead. What have you __**done**_ _since I left, Sakura? What have you __**become**_?

(And Sasuke can't help but shiver again with a strange sort of anticipation. Once upon a time, Sasuke thought that only Naruto was capable of matching his strength. Now, hearing this? Now he wonders. Now he _hopes_.)

"Right, right, Sakura." Karin continued to talk. "We'll get this ball rolling once she's here. For now, we'll keep an eye on Kabuto. Make sure we can see whatever he might be 'setting up'. Sound good?"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted in response before squirming his way backwards.

Right now, he was just desperate to get out of this damned _vent_.

* * *

Hidan dreamed of home.

It wasn't unusual, this sort of dream. He _missed_ home, missed the hot water springs that filled the air with pleasant steam, missed the sounds of sparring echoing through the hollowed caves that ran beneath the country's feet. He even missed the calmness of the meditation chambers, and in the dream his mind walked through the peaceful halls until he came to be in _the_ chamber. He sat before the Altar of Jashin, criss-crossed, arms held in prayer position at his chest. He took a deep breath, and he could _smell_ the musk of the caves, _feel_ the chakra running through its stones.

At the Altar were two candles, one white, one black. The black one was lit. It had been lit since his initiation years ago. _His_ candle, Hidan thought, a sloppy grin coming to his face. The indication of _his_ power. So long as that candle was lit, he was alive and Jashin's power ran through him.

He heard a sound not unlike the striking of a match. Then, before his eyes, the white candle lit.

Hidan awoke with a curse. Many curses. An entire long stream of them that woke Kakuzu up in the bed across the room, and ended with Kakuzu throwing a kunai directly into his jaw. He couldn't curse if his jaw didn't work, that was likely the rational there, but out of spite Hidan just kept grunting and moaning.

It had happened. But why _now_ of all times? And to _whom_?

They'd expect him to return. But he _couldn't_. He was here by order of Jashin, and who was he to disobey? If orders conflicted, he'd go with the ones that came straight from the source. Besides, it wasn't as if he _wanted_ to meet whatever miserable bastard had gotten designated as his 'other half'. Some snivelly little bitch, most likely, someone Hidan would want to _stab_, even if _that_ was the highest form of blasphemy.

Another kunai made its way to his throat. He couldn't make noise if his _windpipe_ was busted. Hidan let Kakuzu have his silence for now. He was sure the man would already be grumpy, having been woken from slumber so early in the morning. No point tempting fate further.

_One day I'm going to rip all five of that man's hearts out._

Half an hour later, after Hidan had worked the kunai out of his jaw and throat, a paper bird fluttered into the room. Kakuzu caught it with a stray thread from his arm, pulling it close and reading it, still lying down. Eventually he sat up, looking strangely bemused.

"Remember that girl from Wind Country?"

"Little pinkie badass?" Hidan answered, his voice slurred as his jaw healed itself back together. "Yeah, what about her?"

"She had the Ichibi with her."

"She had the _what_?"

"The Ichibi. Right under your nose."

"Right under _your_ nose too, you stupid mother_fucker_!" Hidan yelled, running over to pull the paper from Kakuzu's hands. "And...what the fuck is this about killing her on sight?"

"She has the Ichibi." Kakuzu shrugged. "She'll likely protect it. She's got a deathwish already."

"Fuck and _shit_, Kakuzu, I'd _just_ converted her! Maybe. _Fuck_ it all."

"Not everything is about your stupid religion."

"God, I really hope you eat shit and die one day, Kakuzu." Hidan crumpled the paper in his hand, then dropped it on the floor and stepped on it.

Pinkie had better not come anywhere _near_ him. As much as he enjoyed killing, there was no _way_ he could bring himself to kill a potential recruit. She'd had _promise_.

He cracked his jaw back into place.

Looked like today was shaping up to be one _hell_ of a shitshow already.


	51. Chapter 51

It was no longer dumping rain, but there were still small sprinkles of moisture in the air as Sakura, Gaara, and Sai made their way to the chuunin exams. Sakura considered it par for the course at this point, and was, quite frankly, surprised that it wasn't pouring hail over their heads instead. It would have fit the mood that had currently sunk in over herself and Gaara, though Sai, somehow, seemed to have a pleasant attitude in the face of their current dilemma.

"I called it." Sai explained, his fake smile now almost bleeding into the realm of a legitimate one. He held up his small notebook as they walked, and Sakura could clearly see the date (several days ago), and an underlined statement: 'As a show of strength to villages, neutral ambassadors with shinobi prowess will likely be called upon to participate in chuunin and jounin exams, starting with Sakura, Gaara, and myself'.

"If you called it, why didn't you tell us?" Gaara demanded.

"You heard the Pineapple. He thought Sakura would be more convincing if she didn't know about it."

Sakura frowned for a moment, trying to figure out who the _hell_ had earned the nickname 'pineapple' before realizing that Shikamaru's hair did sort of stick up in a similar manner to a pineapple's leaves. She allowed herself a small giggle at the thought, which...helped. Humor in the face of a dire situation was proving to be a strangely adequate coping mechanism.

"I guess it won't matter much." Gaara answered. "The chuunin exams weren't exactly difficult the last time I took them."

"Speak for yourself." Sakura gently thwapped the boy's arm. "Orochimaru and his goons damn near killed me last time."

"You're stronger now."

"...admittedly."

"And you have us."

"I had _Naruto _and _Sasuke_ back then, too." Sakura pointed out. "They weren't exactly incompetent shinobi. And back then, Orochimaru was too focused on Sasuke to _really_ focus on me. This time around…"

This time around, they were facing an unknown enemy of unknown skill, planted by Danzo, whose sole purpose in this exam would likely be taking them down. It would be impossible to narrow down whom until it happened. Danzo could have planted a Konoha team of elite Root agents, or he could have convinced any of the unsigned villages to donate a team to the cause. Sakura trusted that Konan would not betray her to Danzo's wrath, but that only eliminated the sole Rain team, Waterfall, Stone, Plains, and a handful of Leaf teams from her suspicion.

And as they turned the corner to finally catch sight of the building where the first exam would take place, Sakura's heart sank down further into her chest. There had to be nearly a _hundred_ teams participating in the exams this year, including her own, and after eliminating the teams that she could count on to _not_ stab her in the back, there were still about seventy teams whose loyalties remained unknown. That was a little over two hundred shinobi she had to watch out for. She might as well have been in a _war zone_.

Sakura swallowed. She felt somewhat sick, but she couldn't allow herself to show even an ounce of fear. She was going to be an _ambassador_. She was the student of the Tsuchikage. She had fought off Itachi goddamn _Uchiha_ and lived to tell about it, even if she still wasn't sure entirely how. She had strength now that she didn't have the first time she had taken these exams, and she'd be damned if she wasn't just as capable of succeeding as every other shinobi here.

Danzo wouldn't succeed. His lackeys wouldn't be able to _touch_ her. Nobody here would be able to touch her or else, damn it all, she wouldn't be _worthy_ of her position.

Deep in the back of her mind she felt an almost familiar surge of belligerent energy rise up from within her. _Damn right_, she thought to herself. _If that old creep thinks he can scare me off, he's got another thing coming!_

"SAKURA!"

She heard a familiar voice call out, and a flash of green as Lee sprinted over to her side. "Are my eyes deceiving me? Is this too good to be true? Is it true that my eternal rival will also be participating in the exams?"

Sakura smiled as she heard how Lee referred to her. Something about being good enough to be considered someone's rival, and to have that person be _Lee_ of all people, was more than enough to be the final step to pull her out of her dark mood. "Yup." She replied. "The Kage dragged me into it. They want to see what the three of us are capable of."

"Then that is perfect! We shall breeze through the exam and then meet on opposite sides of the arena at the tournament. Then we shall see once and for all whose training has been superior!"

"Get in line, Lee! I called a match with Sakura first!" Naruto's voice rang out from the crowd, and orange came to join green. "Sakura, you'll fight with me first, right, right?"

"Not a chance, Naruto! She is _my_ rival!"

"And she's _my_...um...former teammate!"

"And she's _my_ childhood best friend, so I get to call dibs before _either_ of you!" From out of nowhere, Ino appeared, standing in between both of the boys with a smug look on her face. "The line starts _here_."

Sakura turned slightly pink as the three began to squabble. Not just Lee, but Naruto and Ino too...Ino, she understood. Ino no doubt wanted 'revenge' for the disappointing tie in the last exams. Naruto...was he really _that_ excited to fight her?

"You know it doesn't matter, right?" Sai piped up. "If we _do_ make it to the tournament section of the exam, matches are determined at random. For all we know, _I_ might get to fight Sakura first." He looked her way, and Sakura could have sworn she saw a look of momentary fear in his eyes. "Though...she'd probably kill me."

"Aww, don't be so hard on yourself, Sai!" Ino piped up. She switched demeanors almost instantly, and though she began to smooze up to Sai in a manner similar to how she used to try and get close to Sasuke, Sakura noticed that the Yamanaka kept glancing back at Naruto. Was she trying to get a _rise_ out of him? "A handsome and talented shinobi like you wouldn't have any trouble putting Billboard-Brow in the dust!"

And, to Sakura's surprise, it _did_ get a rise out of Naruto. He puffed up his chest slightly, walking over to Sai and poking a finger at the boy's chest.

"You don't look so tough." Naruto told him. "Ino, you should know better by now who the _real_ talent is. Sai's not going to be the next Hokage, you know!"

"A Hokage has to have a brain, Brainless."

"I do _too_ have brains you pale son of a-" Naruto huffed, stepping back and turning to whine at Ino. "_Tell_ him Ino, come on! You know I'm awesome!"

Ino had him hook, line, and sinker. Sakura shook her head, noticing the small smirk that had grown on Ino's face.

"Guess you two might have to fight each other before you fight Sakura." Ino teased. "Two strong boys fighting over a girl...Sakura, I'm a little jealous."

"Oh Ino, glad you can finally admit which of the two of us is the superior beauty." Sakura retorted in turn.

"You only wish, Sakura."

The boys continued to lightly bicker amongst themselves, and it was at this moment that Sakura noticed Hinata quietly heading their way. She looked nervous as she approached, and though she glanced at Naruto briefly when she arrived, Sakura realized that Hinata had come to talk to _her_.

"Sakura...um...you said you came with the Taki shinobi, didn't you?"

"Yeah?"

"I keep wondering if I've met one of them before." Hinata admitted, pressing her front fingers together in her usual fidgeting manner. "She keeps waving at me, and she...she told me to watch her during the exams so I'd be impressed...but Taki shinobi haven't left their country in decades, I thought…"

_Fuu_, Sakura realized with a small smile. The girl was just as boisterous as Naruto; she didn't doubt Fuu had just declared her intentions to Hinata outright without bothering to introduce herself. "You haven't met her before, no, but Fuu's just that kind of person. If she's calling out to you like that, she probably just thinks you're really...neat."

"Me?" Hinata blinked, turning her trademark shade of red. "N-not you or Naruto?"

"Eh, I think you're, uh, more her type." Sakura admitted. "Besides, don't sell yourself short. You're heir to the whole Hyuga clan! You're pretty cool yourself, you know." And though she couldn't say it out loud, for fear of who was listening, she'd heard Shikamaru mention just the other day how useful Hinata had been in tracking down evidence that Root had been running off with orphan children. She'd have to remind Shikamaru later to tell _her_ that.

Before Hinata could say anymore, she heard a voice call out on a megaphone calling all of the teams to the front of the building. They had yet to let anyone in, and by the looks of things that had been completely intentional. They corralled the shinobi into a space at the front of the building, and then a Konoha shinobi that Sakura didn't recognize began to speak.

"Alright, brats, it's time to listen up! The first stage of the chuunin exams will be starting momentarily, and I'll only be telling you the rules once!"

Sakura saw Sai start to write in his notebook out of the corner of her eye, and a few moments later saw, to her amusement, that a couple other teams had taken note, hastily taking out scrolls of their own to write in.

"The first stage will be taking place in the building behind me." The shinobi continued. "There are two entrances to the building, opposite sides of each other. You will enter in through one of these entrances, and will only be allowed to leave through the same entrance. Your exam objective is simple: make your way to the top floor of the building and retrieve a labeled scroll." The proctor held up a scroll, and Sakura noticed that it was sealed shut with the Konoha crest. "Make sure you get the correct one." The proctor noted with a grin. "The building is guarded by exam proctors, and there are dozens of traps that you will need to navigate and avoid. You will be graded on a three point system. Every time you are seen by a proctor or trigger a trap, you will lose one of your three points. If you hit zero points, you will automatically fail the exam."

Simple enough at face value, Sakura noted. This exam was clearly testing infiltration skills. They would be heading into a building with unknown dangers, retrieving something of value, with the intent of doing so stealthily. Triggering a trap or alerting a guard to one's presence would be a death sentence on a real mission.

But even so, it seemed a bit _too _straightforward. And just as Sakura was thinking this, proctor spoke again.

"There's a few catches to this rule. The first of which is that you will only have ten minutes to complete this exam. Failure to do so within the time limit will also result in failure."

Sakura winced. Avoiding danger was hard enough when one was taking their time. Moving _quickly_ was going to be a problem.

"The second catch is that you will not be the only team entering this building during your run. Two teams will be entering simultaneously, and there is only one scroll in the building. And only the team that leaves the building with the scroll will be allowed to proceed to the next stage of the exam!"

Sakura winced again. A _timed_ infiltration mission, and they would be _competing_?

It _did_ make sense. They needed to narrow down the number of teams for the third tournament portion of the exam. This first portion would eliminate at _least_ half of the teams, possibly more if both teams were eliminated by time or point loss.

"It's a very interesting simulation." Sai commented as he wrote. "A scenario in which you have a limited amount of time to retrieve an asset from a guarded place, and under the knowledge that you are not the only one seeking the asset. Even upon failure, this is good training for genin."

"Maybe so, but that means our success is going to depend on how much better we are than the team on the other side." Sakura pointed out. "If we get chosen to go against Naruto's team, what do you think the chances of our success are going to be?"

"Very good." Sai retorted. "Brainless is so loud he'll alert every guard to his presence within the first minute."

"Ha ha."

"One final rule, shinobi!" The proctor yelled out over the murmuring crowd. "For this specific portion of the exam, lethal force will be prohibited! Anyone purposely using lethal force will be disqualified from the exam. Now, send up a representative to come pick a number from the box at my feet. That will determine when your team will go and who you will be facing against!"

Sakura let out a small breath of relief. No lethal force allowed...but would Danzo be willing to risk disqualifying a team to take her out? Even so, there was no way of guaranteeing that one of his teams would be facing against her here, not when they were picking numbers at random. If Danzo had plans, Sakura got the feeling that they wouldn't be taking place here.

(This of course implied that Danzo though her team strong enough to _get_ past this part of the exam. In a way, his faith in her ability was bizarrely rewarding.)

Sakura went and pulled the number fifteen from the box, and after some comparing was pleased to note that she _wouldn't_ be facing off against any of the Konoha rookies, nor Lee or Fuu's teams. Plus, they'd be going earlier in the day, instead of having to wait until later in the afternoon. This suited Sakura fine. They'd get the first part over with, and then have plenty of time to prepare for whatever the second part would be. (Assuming they passed at _all_.)

There were no windows in the building, and as the proctor mentioned, only two doors. Sai began to sketch out the building as the three of them walked around it, trying to take in what information they could while the earlier teams began their runs. Sakura figured out fairly quickly that they could use the early teams to their advantage by looking in through the doorways as the teams made their way inside. However, there was little to be gained from it. All she could glimpse were solid walls and darkness; by the look of things, there were barely any lights inside the building at all. At first, Sakura wondered if Sai had been onto something mentioning training. It was like this building had been made _solely_ for the exams, but who would put in the effort to construct something like that _just_ for today? Building materials, the time required...it was a bit much to commission a three story building for the exams alone.

Then, her questions were answered. After the first teams went, Sakura saw a young man with light brown hair enter the building. With a clasp of his hands, the building began to rumble, and from her position Sakura saw the wooden walls inside the building begin to move about.

"They're changing the interior layout each time." Sai pointed out. "So that previous teams can't inform new ones about what lies within."

"But how is he _doing_ that?" Sakura hissed. "I thought nobody but the first Hokage was capable of using Wood Release jutsu like that?"

"Hmm...I could answer that. But it would be revealing Konoha secrets." Sai replied. "I think that would likely involve a breach of the trust Konoha has placed in us as ambassadors."

"_Right_, right." Sakura rolled her eyes. Of course Sai would think of things like that, and he was probably right, damn it all. But now she was curious. If someone had been born recently with the Wood Release...wouldn't it have been more well known?

Time passed, and eventually their turn arrived. Sakura had spent the previous run stretching and discussing their plan of attack. Thankfully, Sai had a plethora of experience in missions like these, enough so that Sakura was beginning to feel _confident_.

Team sixteen, their opponents for the exam, were surprisingly familiar faces. Sakura grimaced as she recognized the team that Tsunade had assigned her to before she had run away from the village, plus one new member she had not seen before. The team looked at her with harsh eyes as they went to position themselves, and Sakura wondered if it was possible that Danzo had gotten to _that_ team. She _had_ abandoned them after all…

"I feel kind of bad." Sakura admitted as they reached the door. "That was the team I left behind when I ran off from Konoha."

"Then it's personal." Sai retorted. "Now we have to show them that you picked the better team."

Sakura snorted.

The countdown began, and as they heard the proctor yell for them to start, the three of them silently made their way through the door and into the building.

Their first move was simple. Sakura had a sensing jutsu that more than covered the range of the building. A quick pulse determined that there were twelve proctor shinobi in total, and judging by the distances she registered, there were approximately four on each floor. Sai scribbled quickly, taking note of their positions and drawing floor maps to keep track. The shinobi weren't moving, as far as Sakura could tell, which just meant they had to find routes that avoided their locations.

From there, Gaara summoned his 'sand eye', quickly connecting it to his optic nerve and letting it hover in front of them. It could check around corners and scan for traps, and as they began to move through the maze that was the first floor, Sakura noted that there were _plenty_ of those. Some were obvious: tripwires, alarm seals, things that could be easily avoided if one were moving slowly and deliberately, but someone rushing through might stumble upon. Others, however, were more subtle. Sakura very nearly avoided stepping on a seal that had been painted brown to match the floor, stopped only by Gaara's sand grabbing at her foot and preventing her from completing her step.

Sakura took up the rear end of the group, continuing sending out sensing pulses to determine where the enemy team was in relation to themselves. If the enemy team suddenly moved upwards, then they would know where the stairs were.

"We could simply wait." Sai spoke quietly as they meandered. "Nothing says we have to be the ones to get to the top and get the scroll. We just have to be the ones to leave with it."

"An ambush team?"

"We'd have to do it silently or risk alerting proctors." Gaara pointed out. "If we attempt to ambush, it could lead to a fight. Potentially setting off traps."

"Maybe. But it means that we have to find our way to the enemy door and hope we don't set off anything in the process." Sakura sent out another pulse. So far, they were both still on the first floor. "Maybe if they get to the stairs first we can talk about it."

They turned a corner, and found the first set of stairs in front of them.

"You should say that when we get to the next floor too."

"Oh, shut it, Sai. Looks like chance made the decision for us."

Sai gave Sakura a cheeky smile before making his way to the stairs. Then, he suddenly stopped.

"...there's only one entrance into this room, with the stairs."

"Yeah, so?"

"What if there was _no_ entrance?"

"And what the hell would we cover the entrance _with_?"

"The wood is brown. Gaara's sand is brown. It's probably a bit too dark to tell the difference."

Sakura couldn't help but grin at the idea. It was a bit of a dick move, but if the other team never _found_ the stairs, then there wouldn't be competition to worry about. Just proctors and traps. It meant leaving Gaara down here while they retrieved the scroll, which was somewhat worrying, but...the proctors weren't going to be a danger. This portion of the exam was supposed to 'non-lethal'.

"Do it." Sakura told Gaara. "If they break through, wait down here and be ready to cover our exit. I'll be able to sense it if they move up a floor."

Gaara nodded, and with a raise of his hand sand whirled out in front of him and began to fill the entrance hole. Sai had been right. In the darkness, the sand was almost indistinguishable from the walls around it.

"Perfect." Sakura gave him a thumbs up. With that, they had...eight minutes to get to the top. She looked to Sai, and he gave her a nod of understanding. They'd have to move faster if they wanted to make it out in time.

They took to a somewhat lazy jog, softly calling out when they spotted traps. It didn't take as long to find the stairs this time, thanks to Sai rightly deducing that they were most likely on the exact opposite side of the building to maximize the distance teams had to move in the building. The third floor was the emptiest of all of them. There were only two rooms: an antechamber where the stairs were located, and a large chamber with a shrine located on the far wall. The four proctor shinobi stood at attention around the shrine, and resting on the shrine itself were five scrolls with symbols from each of the five major shinobi villages.

"That's why we take notes." Sakura gratefully nudged Sai. "We need the Konoha one, but how are we going to get it without the guards seeing? Gaara's sand would have been nice…"

"Guess I'll have to do." Sai pulled out an empty scroll and began to scribble, drawing a large rat and bringing it to life with a single hand sign. The rat scrambled into the room, keeping to the shadows and running under the feet of the proctor shinobi. Sakura didn't notice any of the proctors looking towards it, so she could only hope they weren't being deducted points. The rat grabbed the Konoha scroll in its teeth before scampering back towards the antechamber.

Scroll in hand, the duo made their way back down the stairs. Sai had sketched their route as they'd moved, which meant all they had to do was retrace their steps, and…

The floor suddenly burst in front of them, and the opposing team leaped through the newly formed hole and into the hallway.

"...looks like our gamble paid off." One of the shinobi spoke, grinning as they saw the Konoha scroll in Sai's hand. "Didn't set off traps, didn't alert guards, and now we get to beat up the village traitors for the win."

Sakura groaned. That had been one hell of a stupid gamble, but she supposed, on a time limit, if someone couldn't find stairs, the easiest thing to do would be to just move up the floors the hard way. There were only four minutes left, if she'd been timing things correctly. They didn't have _time_ for a spat.

Sakura thought fast. The only way to counter a stupid gamble was with _another_ stupid gamble. With a hard shove, she pushed Sai forward and into the hole. He fell through with a small yelp, and before the other team could process what she'd done, Sakura leaped in after him.

"Ow…" Sai grumbled as he stood. "Really?"

"No time for grumbles. We need to get to Gaara _now_."

They moved just as the enemy team leaped down behind them. They weren't in a familiar hallway, which meant that it was now a race in unfamiliar territory to get back to Gaara, and then the door. Sakura sent out a quick pulse. Gaara, thankfully, wasn't too far, but with the team hot on their heels, would they have time to grab him and make it to the door?

Maybe with a distraction, they might. Sakura flew through hand signs, making two bunshin of herself. Catching on, Sai did the same. As they hit hallway forks, they sent the bunshin off in separate directions. It was a risk: if a bunshin triggered a trap, it might be a point against them. But for now, it served as a delay. Sakura smirked as the enemy team followed a bunshin pair in the wrong direction.

They found Gaara easily enough, and from there they backtracked and made their way to the door with a minute left on the clock. They turned left, right, down one hall, back along another...and just as they turned their final corner, they saw the enemy team turn into the hallway from the other side.

"Fuck." Sakura cursed. If they tried to run for the door, the team might just try to catch them off guard and knock them out. She didn't even know if they could make it back to their own door if they stole the scroll, but maybe now all that mattered was making sure _her_ team didn't pass.

Sakura began to go through hand signs, ready to at least go down with a fight, but before she could do anything, Gaara stepped forward. He summoned his sand in front of him again, making a wall that covered the entire hallway in front of him. Then, he thrust the sand forward, pushing the enemy team backwards and slamming them into the back wall of the hall.

Sakura blinked, confused and relieved.

"It worked on Hiroshi." Gaara pointed out with a shrug.

"That it did." Sakura laughed. "Holy shit, that it did."

They made it through the door with twenty seconds to spare. They had been docked a single point in their run; one of the upper floor proctors had seen the rat just as it had made its way out of the main room. However, one point docked was not enough to disqualify them. They made it out in time, they had the correct scroll, and without much further fanfair the first stage of the exam was _done_.

(The enemy team shot them plenty of sour glares as they were ushered out of the building. Sakura had to hide a laugh as Sai gave them a pleasant wave in turn.)


	52. Chapter 52

((I'm going to do something I haven't yet done for a chapter before and I'm going to put a warning note here. This chapter is a doozy. Sakura will be facing a very sadistic enemy, and if reading about torture bothers you, I would recommend perhaps skipping the part of this chapter that occurs after the second line break. I have tried not to be graphic, but pain is pain, and there are some parts of this I cannot skip over.

In the shinobi world, there is darkness. But when all is said and done, remember that there will always be light.))

* * *

The first stage of the exams concluded in the late evening, which meant that Sakura had plenty of time to prepare her team for the next portion. It was easy enough to assume that the next portion would have a survival aspect, so Sakura made sure that all of her storage scrolls were stocked with food, supplies, and medical kits. From there, it was just waiting and watching, seeing which teams succeeded and taking note of how quickly they finished. At the end, forty-eight teams passed the first stage, including the Konoha rookies, Lee's team, and Fuu's team. As the teams were corralled to the next stage, Sakura also caught sight of the Ame team, as well as some Iwa shinobi that she remembered from her time in the village. There were a few headbands from the smaller villages, but the majority of the remaining passing teams were of Suna and Konoha.

There were still too many teams that could be enemies. Too many teams they couldn't trust.

They were led outside of the village walls, to Sakura's surprise. As the sun began to dip down below the horizon, Sakura caught sight of a vast stretch of forest in front of them, branching north towards Earth Country. Sakura had been on missions in the forests outside the village before, but they had usually stayed to the roads, never going into the untamed forests grown by Hashirama Senju decades ago. In the darkness, the woods seemed foreboding. Every shadow looked like it moved, and every sound seemed like that of a giant creature lurking on the prowl. It was the Forest of Death all over again, but without the boundaries of a true training ground.

The teams were divided into four groups, and the proctor led Sakura's group to a small building in a clearing. "This is your starting point, and your ending point." The proctor began to explain. "When the bell announces the start of the second stage, you will make your way northwards into the woods. Each team will be given a map of the forest indicating the boundaries of the exam. Within the boundaries are ten fortresses, guarded by skilled chuunin from several of your participating villages. Each fortress has a 'treasure' inside of it. Your goal is to find and make your way to one of these fortresses and retrieve what the shinobi are guarding. Once you have retrieved a treasure, you will make your way back to your original starting point, here. You will have seven days to complete your task. The use of lethal force will be allowed during this stage." The proctor then smirked, folding his arms as he surveyed the teams in front of him. "There will be no further information given to you."

"It seems simple." Sakura commented quietly. "Way too simple. For all we know they've spent months setting up traps and tricks all over these woods. And who knows what we'll expect in those fortresses."

"Seven days is a long time." Gaara added. "The exam boundaries will likely be quite vast. It's risky."

"There could be bandits or missing-nin. If not for the fact that most of the villages are participating, I might even postulate foreign shinobi interference. Though I suppose we are a bit too far north to worry about Cloud or Mist." Sai noted. "Plus, there's the other teams to worry about."

"This is the phase." Sakura concluded. "This is where...this is where the enemy wants us."

None of the teams in this quadrant were known allies. That meant, right off the bat, they would likely be fighting for survival. Every team would be looking for a chance to take a pot shot at other teams as soon as the phase began, especially since the number of 'treasures' was so small. Only ten...which meant only ten teams could pass at _maximum_. There was a chance no team could pass at all, or that a team might try to go for two treasures to keep other teams from passing.

And then _Danzo_ was going to try and ensure her death, on top of _everything else_. Sakura was more than a little panicked as the proctor began to hand out maps. The boundaries of the exam stretched for miles, and it seemed unlikely that teams would run into each other at _all_ after the first hour. Yet, this only served to unnerve Sakura _more_. Finding allied teams in these woods was going to prove a challenge, which meant they would have to deal with the possibility that, whatever Danzo had planned, they would have to face it alone.

Danzo had gotten weeks, if not months, to plan this out. Sakura had gotten a day.

_Where the fuck was Shikamaru when you needed him?_

But Shikamaru had seemed certain that everything would work out. It was possible the other rookies had plans of their own that she wasn't aware of yet.

Too many unknowns. Too many variables.

Sakura felt Emi brush against her leg, and she bent down to give the tanuki a couple pats. Well, if she did end up dying out here, at least she'd be with friends and a cute animal, right? She looked to Gaara and Sai, both of whom had a sort of stern, tight look to their faces that was more than indicative of their own stress.

Five quiet, agonizing minutes passed. All of the teams shuffled about into a ready position, weapons at the ready, routes planned. Sakura had opted to just pick a direction and run. Sai could easily help pinpoint their location from the air once they'd gotten far enough from the other teams. For now, all that mattered was survival.

A bell rang in the distance. Sakura pushed chakra into her legs and began to run.

She noticed, in her peripheral vision, that at least one of the teams didn't bother moving from the starting position at all. It was a gamble; teams had to return to their starting point in order to pass the exam, which meant that at some point, a team would come back with treasure in hand. A team could theoretically wait and set up an ambush, negating the need to actually take on a fortress. But it depended entirely upon one of the teams from their quadrant managing to take a treasure and return to the spot without dying in the process.

Sakura could allow herself to worry about the ambush team later. Right now, that just meant ten teams that were potentially trying to kill her.

She kept her three pronged kunai at the ready, deflecting two sets of shuriken as she leaped from tree to tree. Gaara and Sai weren't far behind her, but at the speed they were running, Gaara's sand was having trouble keeping up with him, let alone spreading out to cover the others. A quick glance back showed Sakura that Sai had already pulled out a blank scroll and begun to paint, but so far nothing had come out. Was he really wasting his time on something big?

From her left, Sakura saw movement, and suddenly an enormous gust of wind pushed its way towards her, sending her into the air. She was prevented from going too far when Gaara sand wrapped around her ankle, pulling her back to safety, but it wasn't long before more gusts of wind were sent their way. Suna shinobi, by the look of things, and they seemed hellbent on their team specifically. There wouldn't be a point to wasting shuriken on them either; the wind gusts would make any projectile moot. That left confronting them directly or getting away, and Sakura was reminded, as a shuriken missed her by inches, that slowing down meant a squabble with potentially ten other teams.

She felt a burst of air behind her, and after wondering briefly if an enemy's attack had just been _that_ inaccurate, something appeared beneath her mid-jump: an enormous black and white bird, one of Sai's ink summons, and it was more than large enough to carry all of them. They swooped beneath to catch Gaara, and even Emi (who had impressively managed to keep up with their sprint), and from there Sai directed his bird skyward. They burst through the canopy of the forest, and after a couple swerves to avoid more wind gusts and shuriken, they were leaving the enemy teams behind.

"Son of a _bitch_." Sakura let herself curse. "It's gonna be a damn bloodbath at every gate. I don't know what we would have done with your bird, Sai."

"Died, probably." Sai answered.

"...thanks for the vote of confidence."

Sakura pulled out the map they had been given and started to look at the forest beneath them. It was easy enough to figure out their surroundings with an aerial view, and at first glance they appeared to be the only team with that advantage. But Sakura remembered Fuu's chakra wings, and it was entirely possible that there was another team with an _actual_ bird summon that they might need to worry about.

"We can't stay up here too long." Sakura concluded. "Even a shinobi that climbs high enough will be able to catch sight of us. We should figure out a direction to try and get low to the ground again."

"Agreed." Sai replied. "If Danzo means to see us dead, our only course of action is to ensure those under his influence do not find us."

"All while passing the exam…" Gaara added solemnly. "Sakura, are you sure Shikamaru knows what he's doing?"

"Yes." Sakura paused, frowning. "...maybe. The other rookies know the situation. If we could find them, we could work together. I doubt there's any team that could take all nine of us."

"The question is going to be finding them."

"Emi can help." Gaara held up the tanuki. "She knows what they smell like."

"That's perfect." Sakura grinned. "Alright, take us down, Sai. We'll find the other teams and take it from there."

By the time they descended into the forest again, the sun had finished setting and it was _dark_. The trees were alive with the sounds of nighttime creatures, but even some of the larger animals scurried away once they caught wind of Gaara's presence. A benefit to housing Shukaku, Sakura supposed. There wasn't a creature alive that wanted to mess with a Bijuu. Though it was a potential risk, Sakura pulled out a flashlight from a storage scroll. Being able to see was just a smidgen more important than potentially risking discovering if an enemy saw the light.

"I don't know why shinobi haven't invented a jutsu for night vision." Sakura grumbled quietly as they walked. "What do shinobi on missions at night do, just hope they don't run into a tree?"

"Shinobi use their other senses to move about, Fisticuffs." Sai retorted. "A talented shinobi can use echolocation to avoid obstacles."

"Oh, so you know echolocation? Maybe you should take the lead."

"I never said _I_ knew echolocation."

"So does that mean you're not a talented shinobi?"

"Hmm. Maybe not. But that means neither of you are either."

"Sakura…" Gaara spoke up suddenly, and even in the dimness Sakura saw that the boy looked somewhat distressed. "Do you mean...you really can't see where we're going?"

"...do you mean _you_ can?"

"I've always been able to see in the dark." Gaara admitted. "I thought…"

"Has nobody else ever used a _flashlight_ around you?" Sakura had to hold herself back from yelling in disbelief.

"Kankuro and Temari just followed me on missions." There was a pause, and Gaara frowned. "...Shukaku's laughing."

"Well _crap_, no point in using this thing, then." Sakura groaned as she put the flashlight away. "Put it down in your notes, Sai, I guess _Bijuu_ have night vision. Shukaku's chakra has probably been helping you see in the dark all your _life_, that is so frickin' _useful_. If we get out of this alive, I'm gonna _make_ Shukaku teach us how that works. _We_ can invent the night vision jutsu."

"I imagine it's just enhancing how much natural light your eye can receive and process." Sai postulated. "Jinchuuriki might be able to do it naturally due to their symbiosis with the Bijuu. They have larger reserves to begin with, and if the Bijuu themselves process light that way, the Bijuu's chakra might instinctively do so within the host."

"Sounds like it would take really good chakra control not to blow your eyes out when you do it, though." Sakura tried to remember her brief studies into chakra pathways. There were plenty of chakra nodes in the head, and pathways that specifically moved around the eyes. That sort of jutsu would require molding the chakra in those pathways in a way that enhanced light, without altering the natural flow.

...but really, wasn't that what she did with her feet when she climbed trees or water walked? It had taken effort at first, but now that she had been doing it for over a year, it happened without thinking. It wasn't just a matter of using a jutsu, it was just training her body to naturally adjust her chakra to dim light.

All she needed to know was _how_.

"You and Emi should take the lead for now, Gaara. We'll follow behind you." Sakura decided. "And if Shukaku has any tips for us to practice while we move…"

"...he says you have a better chance of learning echolocation."

Sakura held up her middle finger towards Gaara. "For Shukaku, not you."

* * *

They walked well into the night, making their way forward as quickly and quietly as possible. Emi had caught wind of some sort of scent, but it was soon clear that it would take some time to catch up with whomever she'd decided to follow. It was past midnight that the exhaustion of the day began to catch up with Sakura, and even Sai looked as though his eyes were beginning to droop.

"We should rest." Gaara finally spoke up, coming to a stop. "I don't need sleep. I can keep watch."

"Yeah, and if we stop, that gives others a chance to catch up to us." Sakura countered.

"It won't matter if you're too tired to stop them."

"...right." It was a fair point. Sakura hadn't used up too much chakra in their early sprint, but without sleep, she'd just be at a disadvantage. This was a dilemma the other teams would be facing as well, and _they_ didn't have an insomniac Jinchuuriki at their disposal to keep watch. Taking a brief nap now, conserving strength...they were just using their assets to their advantage.

Setting up a small camp was easy. Sakura had gotten experience setting up perimeter traps in the last exam, and Sai's artistic eye was able to help blend their little tent with the foliage around it. Sakura set up two sleeping bags inside of it, then distributed rations to the boys. From there, Gaara perched himself in one of the boughs of the tree above them, with Emi at his side to help keep watch.

Sakura was used to sleeping outside now. She remembered in the previous exam how difficult it had been to sleep on hard ground, but now the earth beneath her felt like a comfortable, firm mattress. She and Sai settled, back to back, and Sakura slowly began to let herself drift to sleep.

"...Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes flew open, and it took her a minute to realize that it was Sai speaking her name. Sai almost _never_ spoke her name directly, it was always 'Fisticuffs' or some other name to reference her. But he had definitely said it; as Sakura sat up, she noticed that Sai had turned around to face her.

"Yeah?"

"We might be dying soon."

Sakura huffed, turning back around and laying down again. "Yeah, I know, Sai, I'm trying not to think about it too much."

"I thought I was ready to die."

Sakura looked back again. Sai was gazing forward towards the entrance of the tent, not meeting her eyes as he spoke. "I thought I was ready to die for Root."

"Sai-"

"I killed my brother, Sakura."

Brother? Sai had never mentioned a brother before, but Sakura was suddenly reminded of the book she had taken from him when they had first met. The book with two shinobi, battling foes until they met and held hands at the very end...at least, that was how Sai had ended it. Could that have been his brother?

"Root are told to eliminate all attachments. My brother and I...we had gotten close in our training. He let me kill him. He...he told me to live on, for us. He just...ran into my blade." Sai's voice still seemed apathetic as he spoke, but Sakura could see in the darkness that his hands had begun to shake. "He was ready to die so that I could live. But I realized...that wasn't really the truth. Not all of it. We could have tried to run. We could have gone to the Hokage and begged to be released from Root. We could have tried to defect. Maybe we would have died, but if we'd lived, we would have had each other. But my brother...he had already given up, then. He didn't think there was another way. Maybe he couldn't live in a world where I had died, but maybe more than that, he couldn't bring himself to live in this world at all."

Sakura reached out, putting her hand on top of Sai's. It still shook, but he did not pull away.

"But I wanted to live." Sai continued. "I did as Danzo asked because I _wasn't_ ready to die. For all I swore about protecting Konoha with my last breath, all I was really doing was following orders so that they wouldn't kill me. Living an empty life was better than having no life at all. It hurt to live without my brother, but I couldn't change what he had done. And maybe, at the time, I hadn't wanted to live in a world without him either...but he'd made me promise to live. So I did. I thought I did. But living in fear isn't really living, is it?"

It wasn't. Sakura couldn't help but agree, but she didn't dare speak up now. This was...the most Sai had ever really talked about himself, and she didn't want to stop him now.

"I think I saw it for the first time when I saw you and Gaara. You both, working together, not because of fear, not because of duty, but because you _wanted_ to. And then you started the neutrality pact and...I saw a world where no one had to be afraid. Nobody would have to die for anyone else. I saw it and...I didn't know it then, but I _had_ to reach for that world, or else I might as well have been dead all this time. My brother might have given up, but _I_ didn't have to. Instead of dying for what I was told to die for, I could die for something I _believed_ in. It was the same as you and Gaara, I thought. You're ready to put your life on the line for this. You've already put your life on the line for this. Gaara will never stop putting his life on the line for you. And me...I've finally become like the brother I idolized. I can't go back to the way things were. And I can't let you fail. I can't live in a world where Danzo killed you. So you have to...you have to promise me, if I tell you to run and leave me behind-"

"I won't." Sakura insisted, squeezing his hand tight to assure him. He'd been joking about it so much, she hadn't realized...or maybe it hadn't been joking at all? Had she just been unable to see it this entire time? "That's not going to happen, Sai. You're not going to die out here. _We're_ not going to die, Sai, because we have something to _live_ for. Why do you think I was able to stand up to Itachi? Why do you think I was able to leave my village, run all this way, come this far? It's not about _dying_ for something, Sai, it's about _living_ for it. And I promise you, Sai, as long as I can move, as long as I can draw breath, we are _not_ going to die in this fucking forest, no matter _what_ Danzo throws at us."

"Sakura, _please_-"

"Maybe I can't live in a world where Danzo killed you _either_, Sai!" Sakura let herself snap, not caring if Gaara heard, not caring if anyone heard. "Haven't you put that together yet? You're my _friend_. We didn't go through all this hell just for you throw your life away. We are making it through _together_. I'm not gonna die. Gaara's not gonna die. And so help me _you're_ not gonna die or else I'll figure out that stupid jutsu Orochimaru uses to bring the dead back and once I've used it on you I'll _really_ show you some damn fisticuffs."

"...I see."

Sai went quiet for a while, though he still had not pulled his hand away. He hadn't yet met her eyes either. But as the seconds passed away, Sakura felt the shaking in his hand begin to stop.

"I see." He repeated. "That feeling...that look in your eyes then…"

Sakura didn't know what he was talking about, but she felt Sai's other hand reach to cover hers. "Living for something. You're right, I don't think I've ever tried that. No one ever speaks of living in the shinobi world. Only dying, and dying well. Living well...I don't think I know how to do that. But if we survive this, if the pact survives...would that be living well, do you think?"

"I think so."

"Then...as long as we move. As long as we draw breath." Sai's eyes met hers, and Sakura could almost _feel_ a change in the air, as if determination was starting to leak into his chakra, into the very space around them. "We stay alive."

"That's right, Sai. We stay alive."

This time, as they drifted off to sleep, Sakura made sure her hand never left his.

* * *

When the morning came, so too did the enemy.

Their presence was announced with a mighty blast as one of Sakura's larger traps was deployed. Sai had stocked up on a plethora of explosive tags, and Sakura had lined up a dozen of them around the perimeter of their tent, along with an intricate web of trip wires disguised under the brush. They were midway into breakfast when it occurred, but each of them dropped their rations in a flash as the explosions sounded around them. Sakura let out a quick sensing pulse, and paled as she realized the number of shinobi that had approached them.

One, two, three..._ten_ total, though the tenth's chakra was so low she barely picked up on it at all. She couldn't help but wonder if her traps had been lethal; ten was three teams plus one, which would have been an odd grouping. Briefly, Sakura hoped it hadn't been any of the Konoha rookies caught up in the explosion, but Emi's angry growling was more than enough to convince her that it wasn't friends who had approached them.

Nine of the shinobi moved forward into the perimeter. The tenth stayed behind, and Sakura's pulses confirmed, after several bursts, that their chakra was fading and fading fast. Dead, likely. Their preparation had turned it from a four on one scenario to a three on one scenario. Bad odds, but still better than it had been.

They were sporting Konoha headbands, and Sakura noticed that they were all wearing similar dark clothing, clothing that vaguely reminded her of Sai's attire. With the exception of one who had taken the front, the shinobi all had blank expressions that definitely _were_ familiar. She had seen that same blankness on Sai when they had first met months ago.

Root agents, all of them. Danzo hadn't just persuaded the villages to sic their teams on her, he'd planted his _own_ teams to take her down. It wasn't even about taking the exams. Root agents were supposed to be beyond chuunin level to begin with. Danzo had planted _four_ Root teams into the exams in the hope of taking her down, and it was only by luck that her traps had managed to eliminate one of them.

The front shinobi had put on an expression that was something of a mockery of a smile. It certainly didn't look friendly; in fact, it reminded her of the look on Orochimaru's face as he'd toyed with Sasuke in the Forest of Death. Sadistic...and _cold_.

"Tera…" She heard Sai whisper.

"Not bad for a bunch of traitors." The man replied. He pulled out what looked to be three senbon at first, but as Sakura stole another glance she realized that they were longer than traditional senbon, and that there were wires attached to the ends. She saw Sai take a step back at the sight of them. Clearly he knew the man and what he could do, and seeing Sai afraid was enough to put her even more on the defensive.

"Danzo wants to give you a chance to redeem yourself, Sai." Tera spoke. "If you kill the Haruno girl now, he will welcome you back into Root. And there will only be...minor punishment."

Sakura and Gaara both looked to Sai then, but in this Sai did not show any signs of wavering. He pulled forth an empty scroll, prepared for a fight. "You may tell Danzo to…" He looked over to Gaara. "How does Shukaku usually say it? Ah." He looked back to Tera, and Sakura saw him put an equally fake smile on his face. "Eat shit and die."

Sakura snorted, her fear temporarily abated by the comment. Maybe Sai was wary of the man, but he certainly wasn't going to show it any longer. Sakura readied herself, letting her chakra begin to build.

"Well." Tera commented, sounding amused. "How unfortunate for you. And how stupid. You could have avoided all this suffering, but now you'll have to join in."

He gave a sharp jerk of his head, and the eight shinobi behind him leapt forward into action. Sakura was prepared. Three of the eight headed for her, another three to Gaara, and two towards Sai. Tera held back; if she could take him out, Sakura theorized, it might serve to scatter the group. But for now, she had to _survive_, and while she didn't know what Root were capable of, they didn't know what _she_ was capable of either. She slammed both of her hands downwards, and five pillars of earth shot up in front of her. Two of her attackers dodged, but one wasn't so lucky. It didn't knock him out, but it did send him up into the air, and Sakura was more than happy to take advantage. She shoved chakra towards her feet and _ran_, just barely missing a sword blow from one of the other shinobi. Another well placed earth pillar just below her feet helped catapult her into the air, and from there Sakura let gravity take hold of her. As the enemy hit the ground, she twisted in the air, preparing to land a powerful punch while he was downed. However, right before she was due to land the blow, she felt a sharp pain in her arm; two shuriken had landed in her flesh, and though her punch still landed, it was with nowhere near the amount of force she had initially planned. She fell to the ground, only just managing to roll herself up and into a kneeling position. The shuriken had gotten in _deep_, and the shinobi who had thrown them was already preparing more to send her way. Sakura wrenched the shuriken out, not letting herself linger on the pain. With her uninjured arm, she flung them just in time to intercept the enemy's.

The shinobi she'd punched wasn't unconscious, but was still downed. For now, she wouldn't have to worry about him, which just meant there was two more to take care of before-

"Sakura!"

Sai's voice shattered her concentration, and Sakura glanced wildly around the battlefield until she caught sight of where Sai was looking. Gaara had been surrounded by his three attackers, but...they weren't attacking him. They'd each pulled out a large scroll and unraveled it, and the glow of the symbols on the paper were enough to confirm that they had already activated whatever jutsu they'd written upon it. And Gaara was…

Gaara was...glowing?

His sand had seemed to freeze in place around him, and as Sakura looked, she could see that the glowing was from a large symbol on Gaara's stomach. She could see lines and kanji that wove in an intricate circle, a _seal_ she realized, _the_ seal that was keeping Shukaku bound within Gaara's flesh. Whatever the shinobi were doing, it had caused Gaara to halt and the seal to glow.

One of the three pulled out what looked to be a large tea kettle, and in that moment Sakura _understood_.

_They were trying to remove Shukaku._

_**They were trying to remove Shukaku**__._

Gaara had told her that in the early days of the village's founding, Shukaku had been sealed within a giant tea kettle, before he had ever been sealed within a human host. And of course Sunagakure would know the sealing techniques required to pull Shukaku from a host and put him back in his original prison; Suna had made the seals to _begin_ with. And Danzo had ensured Suna's alliance by ensuring that they would have a chance to recover their Bijuu from his rebellious host.

Sakura heard a gut wrenching scream as the seal started to unravel, and it was at that moment that she also remembered that removing a Bijuu from its host would _kill_ the host, which meant that unless she did something quickly Gaara was going to _die_. She turned her back on the enemies in front of her, sending as much chakra as she could to her legs. If she could just get there fast enough, land a good punch on one of them-

She felt a stabbing sensation in her shoulder, and all of the sudden her world was _pain_.

It felt like minutes passed before Sakura was able to understand what was happening. Her vision went white, and when she was able to feel something besides pain, she became aware that her entire body seemed to be vibrating intensely. There was a sound, a high pitched sound that she eventually realized was a scream wrenching itself from her throat. Eventually, the vibrations ceased, and her vision bled back into view. Sakura saw a wire in front of her, and as she forced her head to turn she realized that one of Tera's senbon had lodged itself into her shoulder.

"So sorry, Ms. Haruno." Tera spoke in a manner that reminded her of a parent admonishing a child. "But there won't be any interfering with the Jinchuuriki by you today. Danzo wants you dead, of course...but he told me I didn't have to do it quickly."

Sakura saw Tera move a free hand to make a hand sign. His other hand sparked with energy, his chakra building into lightning that suddenly coursed down the wire he was holding...the wire that was attached to the senbon in her shoulder.

Once again, Sakura's world became pain.

Her body seemed to lock into place, and as much as she longed to yank the senbon from her body, the electric shocks kept her from being able to move so much as a finger. She heard screaming again, and now she wasn't sure if it was her or Gaara. (Both?) When the shocks stopped, Sakura felt earth on her face. She had fallen over, and before she could even think of getting up again, another shock made its way through her body and all she could feel was pain _pain __**pain**_.

"You're an earth type, of course." Tera's voice sounded muffled, distant compared to the ringing in her ears. "I'm sure my lightning must feel _especially_ good on someone like you. Come now, are you really that weak? I haven't even used all three of my needles yet. I wonder if you'll be able to handle two of them? I'll let you take a breather. We don't want you to pass out just yet, do we?"

Sakura couldn't move her arms, she _couldn't move her arms_, but she could still see, still force herself to move, _she had to keep moving, she had to keep breathing_. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw that two shinobi had managed to restrain Sai, holding his arms behind him and forcing him to stay knelt on the ground, forcing him to _watch_, Sakura realized.

"Is the traitor having fun yet?" Tera looked back to Sai with a malicious sneer. "You've grown attached to her, haven't you? You weren't supposed to get _attached_. Now you get to see why. I think it's time to see if your precious Sakura can handle _two_ charges, don't you think?"

Not two. _She couldn't handle two_. Sakura forced chakra through her body, trying to push _something_ out, get a jutsu to work, force her legs to move, _anything_. She willed her energy into the ground beneath her, and she saw Tera suddenly dance to the left as a pitiful pillar of earth jutted out next to him.

"She's still got a _bite_." Tera stated, looking almost gleeful. "That just makes it more fun, doesn't it?"

He readied a second senbon, and Sakura knew without a doubt that she didn't have the strength to move, let alone dodge. It hit her other shoulder, and there was a second, a second that seemed to last an eternity, that Sakura and Sai's eyes met.

She saw him mouth the word 'no'.

And then there was _pain __**pain pain pain pain.**_


	53. Chapter 53

Gaara remembered being warned as a child.

"_You are a weapon. You are a tool. You exist only for this purpose."_

**Shukaku remembered being warned, hours after his creation.**

"_**There is darkness in humanity, and we may never be free of it."**_

Gaara remembered the promise they made.

"_If you ever lose yourself to the monster, ever turn upon this village, we shall take our power back and you will die."_

**Shukaku remembered the promise they made.**

"_**We must guide them down the path of peace."**_

Gaara remembered the pain of betrayal.

"_You were never loved."_

**Shukaku remembered the pain of betrayal.**

"_**Your power is vast. We shall take it for the sake of our village."**_

Black sand whirled around him in a powerful vortex, and Gaara felt his body being ripped in two. Somewhere in the forefront of his mind, Gaara knew he was in agony, but he had been pulled back into the mindspace shared by him and Shukaku, and everything was falling apart.

It was as if a wind tunnel was pulling somewhere in the distance, pulling away at the sand, pulling at the chains that held Shukaku down, pulling at _Shukaku_ himself. And yet, Gaara was unmoving, feeling as though the _opposite_ were true and he was being pushed away, _torn_ away.

**Looks like this is it, brat.**

Shukaku spoke, looking oddly calm even with the chaos around him. Next to him, a chain snapped, flying away into the whirling void.

**You had a good run. And out of all of your pathetic race...I think I disliked you the least.**

_Shukaku was being __**taken**_ _from him!_

Gaara ran forward, pushing against the force that so desperately wanted to keep him away. He reached out, wrapping his arms around the link of one of the remaining chains before it could snap and fly away. He held on with all of his strength, even though his arms threatened to pull out of their sockets, even with the maelstrom that seemed too powerful for one person to fight alone.

**There's no stopping it. **Shukaku told him. **Even if the others stop them, the seal is broken. I'm coming out. Don't worry, if I'm not shoved into a kettle, I'll try not to step on your precious **_**Sakura**_**.**

"No!" Gaara protested. "No, I can't go! Not yet!"

**I told you, brat-**

"Stay with me!"

Even yelling, Gaara's voice was barely audible above the whirl of the wind, but he knew Shukaku heard. He _had_ to. "You have to stay, _please_! Give them time! They'll find a way!"

**I'll give you kudos for wanting to stay alive, brat, but there comes a time where you need to accept the truth. Sometimes when something breaks, there's no fixing it.**

"You know that's not true."

Gaara looked up into the eyes of the Bijuu. In this, Gaara no longer had any doubt.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me I wasn't broken. Look at me and tell me I wasn't _healed_!"

Gaara remembered _love_.

"_I don't care what happened in the past...you're my friend now, got it?"_

**Shukaku remembered…**

"_**I name you Shukaku, and you shall be the protector of men."**_

The tanuki shifted his weight, pushing with all his might away from the opening in the seal, back towards where Gaara was so desperately fighting for his life.

**Alright, brat...we give them time.**

* * *

Sai heard Sakura scream, and for the first time he truly understood what others meant when they claimed their heart hurt for another.

Tera was the Root interrogator. He'd crafted his senbon using techniques from weapon-smithing clans, ensuring that the wiring and the needles would both be able to conduct his chakra at maximum efficiency. It required very little chakra to activate them. Sai had witnessed, once when he was on guard duty, a prisoner undergo Tera's tortures for over six hours. They had gotten all the information they needed about five hours in; Tera just hadn't wanted to _stop_.

If anyone nearby heard the screaming, they would likely be smart and keep their distance. There was no way to call for help. There was no one that would _come_.

And Tera would be more than happy to keep going until Sakura was unable.

And here he was, arms wrenched behind him, a kunai dug into his shoulder to keep him from moving too much. (The woman holding him was all too happy to dig in the blade and remind him to keep still.) Even counting the man that Sakura had downed, there were still four shinobi between him and Sakura. Counting the three currently working with scrolls, seven between him and Gaara. Sai wasn't an idiot, he couldn't _beat_ those odds.

_He'd told them, he'd told them time and time again how this would end and they'd never __**listened**__._

Tera was saying something to him, something about a lesson he should have learned. Sakura wasn't screaming anymore with Tera distracted, but it was only a matter of time. Sai saw her hand twitch, saw her legs shift. Even after all that, even after feeling the bite of _two_ bolts, Sakura was…

Still trying to move.

_As long as we move…_

Tera noticed the movement and turned to watch, laughing as he watched Sakura tremble.

"There's no point in trying to get up, _traitor_. I'll just knock you on your ass again. Might as well just stay down and _behave yourself_."

Tera readied his hand sign, and once again Sai and Sakura's eyes met.

_As long as we can still draw breath... _

But those weren't the eyes of someone who had given up.

Even with no hope in sight, even with no chance of getting out of here unscathed...Sakura wasn't giving up.

_We stay alive._

Sai found energy he didn't know he had, he found _chakra_ surging through his veins, and all at once he leapt upwards, slamming the top of his head against the chin of the shinobi on his right. There was no more pain in his shoulder from the blade; either it had fallen out or straight up _didn't_ hurt anymore. He twisted his right arm, yanking it roughly from the grasp of his captor just in time to land a blow on the left shinobi. Something about the movement didn't seem right, but his mind didn't register pain, only _movement_, only _staying alive_.

They had taken his blades, but Root shinobi were taught to adapt, and as the right shinobi recovered from Sai's headbutt, he turned just in time to be on the receiving end of the wooden butt of Sai's paintbrush. _Always aim for the fleshy bits, _his brother had told him, and Sai took that to heart as he thrust true, into the eye, _past_ _the eye_.

One down.

They'd disarmed him of his ink, shattering his main vial onto the ground so that there was no hope of him using it. Sai had stored spares within scrolls, of course, but there wasn't time to grab a scroll as his remaining captor and the other two unoccupied shinobi all came for him at once.

His ink was chakra infused; that was how his drawings came to life so quickly. No need to waste time expending chakra if you had spent it in the past, and of course that left more for you to use in the moment if needed. But there was something else that Sai could use that was _naturally_ infused with his chakra. His hand flew up to grasp at his injured shoulder, and in the heat of the moment Sai realized that now was going to be the time that he would finally answer his long pondered question of whether or not _blood_ could make his art come to life. He had no time to find a blank canvas, so instead his fingers ran across his arm, and he felt the burn of his chakra as two red birds sprang out. They attacked the nearest assailant as vicious as his intent.

Question answered. Two down.

The remaining two were still bearing down upon him, but Sai ignored them both as he raced forwards towards Tera. All he needed to do was distract him. All he needed to do was give Sakura _time_.

He let himself slam into Tera's side before grabbing on and _holding_ on. He felt the impact of hitting the ground and heard Tera curse.

Sai held Tera down until the other two shinobi drove blades into his back. He felt his arms weaken, and he could hear the sound of his pulse throbbing in his ears.

But he could still move.

But he could still breathe.

But he was still _alive_.

"I'll admit, it's going to be a shame to lose someone like you." He heard Tera say as he pushed Sai away. "Using your own blood for your seals was a bold move. Danzo will miss that ability."

Sai fell onto his side. He was starting to feel pain now, a deep pain in his back from the blades that adrenaline and will just couldn't ignore any longer. Still, he managed to spit at Tera's feet.

"I'm not Danzo's anymore."

"No." Tera agreed. "Now you will just be dead."

Sai looked up and saw Tera turning to face Sakura again, readying his third and final senbon.

"But first you will watch _her_ die."

* * *

Pain.

A heartbeat. A glimpse of trees and sun. Sai, in the distance, their eyes meeting.

Pain.

Gaara, his body stuck in paralyzed agony as the seal on his chest was ripped apart.

Pain.

And then _she was surrounded by black sands, grasping onto a dark chain, willing him to __**stay**__, __**we've got to stay alive.**_

Pain.

But the pain was different now, and she was trying to move, _as long as we move, as long as we breathe, we __**stay alive**_.

And the pain was like a heartbeat now, a pulse that echoed and throbbed through her body until the feeling was so intense that she felt nothing at all, nothing but emptiness and black space around her.

_She was biting down on the arm of the Sound shinobi, ignoring the fist pounding against her head because all that mattered was keeping her team safe, all that mattered was that nobody touched Sasuke or Naruto again._

But no...the pulse _wasn't_ a heartbeat, wasn't the steady one-two rhythm that she had been taught in basic first aid. This pulse was more like steady thunder, rippling through her body and through the earth beneath her and through the trees and grass and stones and _everything_.

_And she was walking, walking through tall grass as the sun beat down upon her head, and she was __**angry**__. She stomped her way through the brush towards the man in the distance, an older fellow who wore a headband with a symbol that looked vaguely familiar, but she could not quite place her finger on where she had seen it before._

"_What's the meaning of this, old man?" She demanded, and the man (Genkei) stood up tall to meet her. He had been gathering herbs by the look of things, his wicker basket full of flowers and stalks. "Why the __**fuck**_ _won't you let me become a chuunin?"_

"_Language, boy." Genkei lectured. "I don't know where you got that mouth, but it won't help your cause. You are not yet ready. And even if you were...there may not be a point to establishing rank in this village for much longer."_

"_What does that even mean?" _

"_Oh Hidan…"_

That wasn't her name, Sakura thought to herself, and she heard the pulsing of the world around her again, felt it in her bones, beneath her skin, but she couldn't tear herself away from the vision.

"_You are not yet ready, boy."_

_Another man was lecturing her now, and instead of grass Sakura saw a deep cavern, lit only by candlelight, and the man in front of her was old, so old she could scarcely believe the man was still capable of standing. "You do not yet understand the meaning of the connection you have been given."_

"_What is there to understand? I'm __**immortal**__." She grinned a wide, cocky grin. "Your god thought I was so cool that he just __**had**_ _to give me a power-up." _

"_It is not just immortality you have been given. You have been given a powerful gift, and you must understand its significance before you may learn more of our rituals."_

"_Yeah, yeah, sure, I'll listen to your lecture."_

"_You won't just listen. You will experience."_

_Suddenly Sakura felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and the scene had changed and she was sitting in front of the old man in a different room. He had drawn the blade of the kunai along her wrist, and as he did so his own wrist cut open._

"_Ow!" She cursed. "Son of a bitch!"_

"_Hurts, does it not?"_

"_Of course it fucking hurts! Why the hell would I ever hurt myself just to hurt somebody else? This is stupid as shit!"_

"_And it is necessary. How can you hope to understand the levity of your actions if you do not fully experience the consequences it brings? How can you hope to comprehend the weight of taking a life if you do not understand what it is like to lose your own? All creatures feel pain, and we of this path understand pain more deeply than any other on this continent. We do not strike unless we are willing to strike ourselves. We do not fight unless we are prepared to shoulder the weight of that commitment. But when we have steeled ourselves truly...we become the masters of death. __**That**_ _is the way of the Hageshisai."_

"_Masters of death, huh?" She looked down at her arm, and saw that the wound was still bleeding, though she could move her hand as though nothing had happened. _

"_Yes. And through this understanding you will find joy in the connection. The pain you share is a sign that you have reached that true bliss of comprehension, that which your enemy experiences. Those who cause pain without understanding the power they wield...Jashin always collects his debts, and that pain will be thrust upon them tenfold, in this life or the next."_

"_...well that just sounds fucking awesome."_

"_Your enthusiasm will serve you well. As his chosen, you shall be a revenant upon the world. Where there is pain, you shall bring justice. Where there is ignorance, you shall bring understanding."_

_Justice…_

_...justice…_

…_...always collects his debts…_

Air hit her lungs, and the pulsing of the world became pain once again. Sakura's body had locked up under the influence of the lightning, her nerves misfiring and seizing up until she had been left a curled ball in the dirt. She tried desperately to move, but nothing would respond.

She flared her chakra, and she felt it ripple beneath her skin, and as it made its way to her fingers she saw her hand twitch.

Something was happening, she realized. The man was no longer sending out _pain_ lightning. She didn't know how long the moment would last. Sakura continued to force chakra through her body, down into her fingers and toes, forcing the energy to pulse in that same, steady rhythm that had been beating into her mind as she'd seen through someone else's eyes. She focused on matching that rhythm, and as she did she felt the pulsing around her start up again. For a second, a minute, an hour, she could not tell, Sakura held perfectly still and let her chakra flow through her.

Let _all_ the chakra flow through her.

Something within her snapped, and Sakura could _move_ again.

She heard a whistle sound in the air, and in response she shot up to her feet. She turned to face her opponent and saw the last of his senbon flying through the air at her, and it was so slow it was _laughable_. But the man was confident in his abilities; he had already begun to raise his free hand up to make a hand sign, and lightning chakra was beginning to spark at the end of the three wires connecting him to his needles. Sakura allowed herself to simply pluck the needle out of the air with one hand; with the other, she removed the two that were still in her shoulders. Time still felt _achingly_ slow, she could _see_ the chakra begin to make its way down the wires.

_Those who cause pain without understanding the power it wields…_

Sakura let her arms move in one fluid motion, throwing the senbon back towards Tera. All three hit true, landing directly in his chest.

Time sped up again, and the lightning continued to travel through the wires to its natural conclusion.

_...Jashin always collects his debts._

And this time it was her opponent who screamed.

Sakura fell to her knees, and the weight of her body suddenly seemed to double, and all she could feel was that _pulsing_ again, only this time the rhythm was off, her chakra wasn't beating in time with the world again. Her body felt like it was moving through mud, slowing down, crackling and freezing into place, like she was turning into stone somehow.

She let herself stop, focused on the rhythm again, this time pushing the chakra out of her, away. She felt her lungs expand with air again, and with a sudden snap, the pulsing stopped, and the world moved at its normal pace once again.

Sakura saw Sai on the ground in front of her, two long swords stuck into his back. She saw Gaara in the distance, still surrounded by enemies. She saw Emi trying in vain to pull one of the three sealers away, only to be knocked back by a fist.

And in front of her were still two more enemies, who were now overcoming the shock of their leader being defeated and were drawing their swords from Sai's back.

Sakura felt a drop of rain.

Then there was a hurricane in front of her, a maelstrom of wind and water slamming against her foes and sending them spiraling back into the depths of the forest. Three shinobi landed in view, each wearing a headband with four vertical lines. _Amegakure_, Sakura realized, and they had come to _help_.

"Oof. Bad timing." One of them commented.

"They're still alive." Another replied. "God will forgive us."

"This one's barely breathing." The first nudged at Sai with his shoe, and Sakura stood up then, not willing to let _anyone_ treat her teammate like that. She staggered forward, drawing her kunai from its hilt, until the third shinobi stepped forward and placed her hand over Sakura's own.

"Lay down your weapon. Amaha knows healing."

The girl looked Sakura up and down, raising an eyebrow as she noted Sakura's shoulders. "I'm surprised _you're_ still standing. I was wondering what our Angel saw in you."

"Angel?" Sakura's thoughts reeled. "You're talking about...Lady Konan?"

"Well, looks like your brain isn't too fried either. Good. We still have a fight to get through." The girl reached out and knocked her knuckles against Sakura's forehead. "You can still fight, yeah?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded. "Yes, I have to."

"Right. Leave pretty boy over there to Amaha. Samidare, come on, we need to stop whatever the hell those three are doing with the scrolls."

"Yeah, that looks pretty nasty." The sole boy of the group came to stand with them, wielding a fan in each hand. Sakura was reminded of Temari's weapon, but these were much smaller. "We can't just blow them away, Urin?"

"Not without hitting the boy in the middle."

"Come on, he'd live."

"We need to stop them from completing the jutsu on those scrolls." Sakura insisted. "If we don't, my teammate will die. He's a…" She swallowed. It was probably public knowledge at this point, so she didn't feel bad mentioning it now. "He's a Jinchuuriki."

"Ah, shit." Samidare cursed. "Can't wait to deal with a fucking _Bijuu_ once the seal breaks. What the hell were these guys _thinking_?"

"I think they were planning on sealing it in the kettle." Urin answered.

"...does the Bijuu come out if someone accidentally kicks the kettle over? That also seems pretty stupid. Lady Konan was right, these heathens have been breathing in too much dry air."

"I can fix it."

Sakura's heart skipped with a beat of relief as she heard Sai's voice. The girl Amaha was still kneeling behind him, green chakra flowing from her palm as she worked on the wounds on Sai's back. "I can fix it." Sai said again. "It's a seal...I know seals."

"It's a Jinchuuriki seal, Sai." Sakura countered gently. "I don't think it's supposed to be common knowledge, how those work."

"Shukaku was always saying it was sloppy to begin with. I'll make a better one."

"Sai-"

"I make a better one, or he _dies,_ Sakura. Either way, I need the chance."

It was a long shot. Such a long shot that Sakura couldn't help but think, deep down, that she _knew_ there was no chance of it working. But Sai was right. They fixed it, or they lost Gaara.

They just needed a chance.

She looked towards the Ame shinobi. "You're with us?"

"It is God's will." Urin replied.

"And I'd rather not be squashed under a chakra being's ass tonight." Samidare added.

It was good enough for her. Sakura readied her kunai and let her chakra flow once more.

The pulsing was gone, but as they charged into the frey, Sakura did not notice.

* * *

What had been nine versus three became five versus five. The two shinobi that had been swept away by the Ame maelstrom recovered quickly enough, and with Sakura and himself as wounded and exhausted as they were, Sai realized that it was down to the Ame team to keep them alive. His wounds had been healed, for the most part, but there was still deep damage that Amaha had not been able to reach, and even a basic attack drudged up pain. It became more difficult still once the three shinobi on Gaara had been pulled into the skirmish, and now that they were no longer focused on siphoning Shukaku into their kettle, all ten shinobi had to deal with the sudden outward burst of Bijuu energy coming from the breach in Gaara's seal.

But...it wasn't completely broken _yet_. It was like Shukaku was holding on somehow, fighting against the seal's breach, and Sai wondered briefly if the old tanuki had gone and gotten so attached to his host that he was working to save Gaara's life. It was inevitable unless the seal was fixed, but Shukaku was buying them _time_, and they needed all the time they could get.

All he needed was an opening, and as the skirmish continued Sai managed to slip past the enemy and skid to a halt in front of Gaara. The energy was almost overwhelming, and Sai could feel the chakra starting to whip and burn at his skin the closer he got.

He pulled out a scroll and summoned his spare ink and brush, and now he was focused with one of the most difficult questions he'd ever had to answer: how do you seal a Jinchuuriki?

He could see kanji around the breached seal, and certain patterns of lines that were attempting to focus Shukaku's energy to fuse with Gaara's, but the pattern was shoddy. Instead of integrating the energy seamlessly, the energy was being forced into places that didn't make sense. Too much chakra to the upper head coils, too many slipshod restraining kanji, and...and _now_ Sai understood, this wasn't just one seal, this was one seal with _additions, _as if Suna had been trying to edit their own work over the years instead of trying to start a new seal from scratch. Gaara's seal didn't function properly because it might as well have been _several_ seals all fighting with each other for dominance.

So the real question was, what _should_ the seal have been to begin with?

Harmony, Sai answered all at once. A harmony between Jinchuuriki and Bijuu, their energies working together as one.

And then Sai knew what the seal had to be.

He had learned early on in his experimentation that a picture said more than a thousand kanji could ever hope to express. The problem with larger seals like Gaara's was that they became too complex, tried to say too much without thinking about the grander implications of _what_ was being said. A seal for a Jinchuuriki needed to be simple, but overarching. Something that could mean _everything_, all at once, or in parts.

"Gaara?" Sai called out, hoping against hope that he could hear him over the rush of the Bijuu's energy breaking out. "If you or Shukaku can hear me, I need you to _focus on working together as one_!"

He saw Gaara's head turn towards him slightly, and though there didn't appear to be any sort of recognition in his eyes, the turn had to _mean_ something.

It was now or never.

Sai began to paint a symbol onto his hand. A circle, divided into two equal parts, one dark and one light. Yin and Yang chakra were considered to be chakra's most basic forms, spiritual and physical energy incarnate. All jutsu used either yin or yang chakra in some way or another, and it was theorized that the Sage of Six Paths himself could harness a perfect combination of both, a balanced harmony that led to the creation of jutsu itself.

Whether or not one believed in the sage, the symbol of Yin and Yang chakra in harmony was well known within all shinobi countries, and really it was the _intent_ that mattered most.

Sai channeled chakra into his hand, and thrust it forward towards Gaara's stomach, over the seal that was now truly beginning to shatter. He felt his chakra begin to violently pull itself from his body, far more than he had ever intended to use, but he did not try to stop it, couldn't stop it even if he'd _wanted_ to.

_Stay alive_...Sai thought to himself.

_We have to stay alive_.

* * *

Gaara remembered _love_.

**Shukaku remembered **_**love**_**.**

And now, instead of a vortex pulling them apart, the air swirled and churned and began to crash them _together_. The last thing that Gaara saw before the black sands faded from view was Shukaku, who looked equal parts confused and relieved.

Then Gaara opened his eyes and felt _chakra_.

He'd felt this chakra before, in times when he'd allowed Shukaku's malice to leak through and manifest in the sand that always surrounded him, but this time there was no malice, there was no hatred or bloodlust, but instead a strange sort of elation.

**That kid is the ballsiest son of a bitch I've ever met in my life.**

Shukaku's voice didn't bleed into his thoughts, but instead seemed like his own thoughts had simply taken on a mind of their own. Not forced, but _allowed_ in.

**I don't think he realizes the implications of what he's done, but…**

Gaara looked downwards, at first looking towards Sai, whose skin was cut and bleeding from the force of the chakra that had been expelled out from the seal. He looked haggard and weary, but there was undoubtedly a smile on the boy's face.

And then Gaara noticed his own body, his own hands, his own _skin_ that was glowing with an energy that shone with a pleasant hazel hue.

**Well, I'm not going to complain about the new living conditions.**

In the back of his mind's eye, Gaara saw Shukaku, freed of his chains, resting casually upon a dune. The sand's grains were now black _and_ white, and for the first time since Gaara had started conversing with the beast, Shukaku looked…

Pleased.

The clang of metal jolted Gaara from his thoughts, and he saw Sakura fighting beyond them, alongside three shinobi that he did not recognize. But there were five he _did_ recognize, the enemy, and now that Shukaku wasn't forcibly being ripped from him, that meant it was _his_ turn to fight. He had to protect Sakura, to keep her _safe_.

_Shukaku...the voice I heard…_

**Hmm?**

_He named you the protector of men._

**...yeah. Maybe it's time for me to start living up to his expectations again. **

_Who was he?_

**Another time, brat. Right now…**

Gaara felt chakra stir up within him, and as he spoke he felt a deep rumble in his chest that spurred him into action.

"**Let's kick some **_**ass**_**."**


	54. Chapter 54

In the rush of the battle and the desperate urge to keep the enemy away from her team, Sakura didn't see Gaara until he materialized in the middle of them. The movement was so quick that her eyes took a moment to process it, and at first Sakura could only dumbly wonder if somehow Gaara had picked up a space-time ninjutsu in the time since the fight began. But something was different about him now, and Sakura realized that she could practically _see_ the chakra oozing off of the boy, hovering about him and giving him a strange hazel hue. About a heartbeat behind him, his sand began to seep into the fray. His sand was quick, but apparently not as quick as the power he'd gotten from…

Whatever _Sai_ had done, Sakura realized. The seal wasn't leaking anymore. Gaara was _alive_, and somehow everything was _different_.

The fighting came to a halt as everyone reacted to Gaara's sudden presence, but Gaara did not hesitate. He settled, moving his body into a strange stance that Sakura had seen him practicing sometimes in the evening. He'd told her, when she'd asked, that Shukaku had been attempting to teach him taijutsu, but when she'd first seen it she could only think that the stances were funny and the movements somewhat strange.

Now as Gaara took the stance, Sakura realized _exactly_ what the style was meant for. His legs bent in a way that reminded her of an hourglass, which served to steady him into the ground beneath him. His hands began to move in circular motions, and in response the sand around him swirled and churned and flew effortlessly around them.

The enemy charged, hesitation over, but Gaara responded quicker.

Where the motions were once calm and fluid, suddenly Gaara's form became rooted and powerful. With big, sweeping motions of his arms, the sand moved to both protect them from assault and retaliate. Grains wrapped around arms and ankles, pulling enemy shinobi towards him so that he could land powerful punches, which were no doubt reinforced by whatever chakra was now covering him like a blanket. The precision in which Gaara landed the hits was astounding; there was no effort wasted, and one by one the enemy fell to the ground, bloodied, bruised, definitely out of commission if they hadn't outright been killed by the sheer force of Gaara's blows. As the final shinobi charged, Gaara did not even look their way. He reached out a hand, and the chakra around it seemed to mold into the shape of a claw, a somewhat familiar claw. Sakura was reminded of when she'd first known him, when he'd first allowed Shukaku to take possession of his body, but this time the claw did not reach with the intent to kill, rip, or tear. It simply grabbed hold of the enemy while they were in the air, then slammed the shinobi down in a manner that was strangely gentle. The shinobi was still conscious, and it was clearly intentional as Gaara walked closer to examine him.

"**Go back to Danzo.**" Gaara spoke, his voice harboring a strange rumble. "**Tell him to watch his back.**"

He let the shinobi go, his chakra aura starting to fade and with it the chakric claw that had been holding the man down. There was no hesitation; the shinobi ran off, and with that the battle was ended.

Sakura didn't take her eyes off of Gaara. All that had happened in seconds, and Sakura had only one thought on her mind as she took it all in.

_That was so...__**cool**__._

Their eyes met, and there was palpable relief between the two of them as it settled in that both of them were still _alive_. But, almost simultaneously, their thoughts turned to the other member of their team, and they ran to Sai's side immediately.

Though his external injuries had been healed, Sai looked haggard, and Sakura had now learned to recognize symptoms that had once been present in herself: chakra exhaustion, and it was _bad_. She'd already gotten the lecture from Kakashi about how chakra drain could kill a person, but now that it wasn't her life at stake, suddenly the weight of the concept became abundantly clear. Sai had expended almost all of his chakra fixing Gaara's seal, and he might die from it.

"Live…" Sakura's voice was barely a whisper as she clung to the boy's hand. "You promised me. You have to live."

For a moment, Sai's lips moved as if he was trying to respond. His eyes shut before anything could come out, and though Sakura's heart stopped for a brief moment, Sai continued to breathe. Sakura sent out a pulse of her sensing jutsu, and though it was incredibly faint, she could still pick up traces of chakra in his body. Alive, he was still _alive_, but who knew when he would wake up again? She allowed herself to grip his hand tighter.

"He was wrong." Gaara spoke. "We're all still alive."

"For now." Sakura agreed. "But who knows how many more teams Danzo's prepared to send after us. Or even just how many teams will try to take out their competition if they pass us by."

"I can..._we_ can keep us safe." Gaara insisted. "Something is...different. Shukaku's chakra, it's no longer running against my own. It's running _with_. And Shukaku, he…" Gaara looked downwards towards his stomach, and Sakura could still see a faint glow around where Sai had renewed the seal. "Something's different." He repeated. "But it's not bad."

"Not bad. Okay. We can work with that." Sakura nodded, reaching out her free hand to squeeze Gaara's as well. "We're alive, you're right about that. Now we just have to worry about…"

"Passing."

"Yeah, that."

With Sai unconscious, they were hindered. It might be possible for her and Gaara to take on an exam fortress together, but not without leaving Sai unattended. And they certainly wouldn't allow either of them to go it _alone_, not after what had just happened.

Sakura sighed. "We have six days. It's a gamble, but we have to give ourselves time to rest. If Sai wakes up within the next twenty-four hours, we can go from there."

It was all they could allow themselves. Time, time that, minutes ago, she wasn't sure they'd ever have again.

Alive. They were _alive_.

And now, all they had to do was figure out some way to pass and they would be _safe_, so long as Danzo abided by the laws of the village. It was unlikely that would last, what with Danzo clearly manipulating villages against her, but he had clearly expected her to die in these woods before he made his move. If they didn't die, that would throw him off rhythm.

_Shikamaru knew there would be an attack, and he trusted in us to survive it. I don't think he knew the extent of what Danzo had planned, but he was under the impression that if we _did _survive...we'd have something we could use._

But what?

It came to Sakura all at once. She stood up, rushing to gather up the large scrolls that had been used to try and break Shukaku from its seal. "Grab that old tea kettle." She told Gaara. "I think I've figured it out." She reached for a second scroll, only to be stopped by the foot of an Ame shinobi landing on it.

"Hey." The boy, Samidare, spoke up. "You're wounded to shit, we saw what that guy was doing to you. Think you wanna calm down for a hot minute before you start running about again? If you pass out, that's just going to be trouble for us."

Wounded? Sakura hadn't even noticed any pain, but as Samidare reminded her of it, she began to feel a dull ache in both of her shoulders, and a tingling sensation that resonated through her whole body. She'd been electrocuted, multiple times, which would likely have caused damage to her nerves, not to mention potential burns on her wounds.

"Let Amaha tend to your injuries." Urin spoke, reaching down to pick up the third scroll that Sakura had yet to grab. "We'll gather these things for you. It is God's will that you remain safe. Until your companion awakens, we will be at your side."

"...thank you." Sakura bowed her head low. "We owe you a debt for today."

"You will pay your debt in time." Urin replied. "God will ensure it."

* * *

It was easy with their tents already set up to move Sai to a covered space. From there, Sakura was made to sit down, and the girl Amaha began to work her healing jutsu on her wounds. The girl had a feather-light touch that made Sakura shiver, and while it had a slightly different sheen to the mystic-palm technique she had seen Konoha medics use, it was still very effective.

The other two Ame shinobi had gone to dispose of the bodies of the enemies that had been left from the fight. Gaara had remained outside to keep watch. That meant Sakura and Amaha were alone, for the moment, and Sakura decided to take advantage of the time to ask questions.

"Your teammates keep mentioning 'God'." Sakura began. "It's not the first time someone has mentioned their god to me, but I admit I didn't really know that Ame had a prominent religion."

"It is a new religion." Amaha explains. "God came to us a little over a decade ago. I do not remember when it happened, as I was very young then. But God freed us of a cruel leader, and through his actions brought our country to safety and prosperity."

"So you've..._seen_ your god?"

"Yes. It is not often. Usually he speaks through the Lady Konan, his angel. But when it is necessary, he has appeared before us and spoken. I have seen him twice in my lifetime."

"Twice." Sakura let herself mull over this. "You know, most people can't claim to have ever met a god. You'll forgive me for asking this, but you seem very certain that this is a deity and not just a really strong shinobi."

"You doubt." Amaha concluded. "It is natural. You have not seen God as we have. Those who meet him are convinced of his power. And one day you will meet him and understand."

"You're so certain of this?"

"You're working to unite the shinobi world. Whether this is God's will or not, he will no doubt come to you in time. He would not have ordered us to protect you simply to allow you to escape his influence."

So whomever this Ame 'God' was, he had ordered Sakura's safety. Konan had promised that she would not move against Sakura in tandem with Danzo, but at the time she had not promised help either. That Ame had pulled through for her in this particularly needful time brought a smile to Sakura's face. Maybe there was hope to bring Ame into the treaty after all.

"I think I _would_ like to meet your god. If only to thank him for ordering you to interfere. If you hadn't stepped in, we would have been in serious hot water, that much is true. Are you not worried about passing the exam?"

"The exam means nothing to us. Our promotion is in God's hands. We came to Konoha simply to accompany the Angel and witness what it was you were working on. Participating in these exams is a formality." Amaha prodded gently at Sakura's back, and Sakura realized she was trying to see if there were any other wounds she had missed. "...though that does not mean we will not give it our best effort, once we are assured our work here is done."

"Oh. Well, again, I owe you quite a bit of thanks." As Amaha finished, Sakura moved both of her arms, feeling a distinct lack of pain after the medic's work. "I won't forget what your team has done for us. And I don't think my shoulders have ever felt better."

"Your gratitude is unnecessary. God's will has been done." Though Sakura noticed that Amaha turned slightly pink at the praise. "But I cannot help but be curious in turn. You mentioned gods other than my own?"

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose I did." Sakura reached up to fiddle with her necklace. "A man I met gave me this." She explained. "He spoke of his god, Jashin. His god is one of pain, but...not just causing it, understanding it. Understanding each other. I don't really know a whole lot. We spoke for maybe ten minutes about it at most. But I couldn't help but feel...well, understanding the pain of others is something I strive to do. That's partially how this pact began. I want to bring people together. I want to stop pain and war and struggle and tragedy. But I don't think I can do that unless I understand where everything began."

"You're taking on Konoha's Shadow." Amaha confirmed. "The one who leads the shinobi who attacked you. The one whom Lady Konan mistrusts."

"Bingo."

"You're digging into a deep wound. If that wound has bled out into even my own country, I cannot imagine how deep it has spread here in Leaf."

"Far too deep for my liking, that's for certain." Sakura looked to Sai, who was sleeping peacefully. "Sai here was once a part of Root. When we first met him, he wasn't really a person. He was like a shell of something. Like Root had tried to empty out everything that made him human. I can't let them do that to anyone else. I can't let them do that to Konoha."

"You have felt the pain of your companion. And thus understand the pain seated within this country." Amaha smiled. "I see. It is little wonder God has turned his eye upon you. I am glad that we interfered today, Sakura Haruno. Your actions can only mean good things for my country."

Sakura smiled in turn. "I will have to come and visit Ame at some point. When I do, hopefully the world will be one step closer to unity."

It was a quiet morning from there on out. Occasionally Sakura heard strange sounds in the distance that she could chalk up as skirmishes, perhaps even explosions from tags or jutsu, but it was nowhere near close enough to cause them worry.

It was around noon, just as they were beginning to cook some freshly caught fish for lunch, that friends arrived.

Naruto reached the area first, shrouded in a faint red outline of chakra and looked panicked until he caught sight of Sakura. He ran over to Sakura with a cry of relief, pulling her into a tight hug that threatened to crack her spine.

"I felt that weird chakra flare up and it reminded me of when Shukaku got let out. I thought you might be hurt."

"We're a little worse for wear, but we're _alive_ Naruto. Did you leave Ino and Chouji behind?"

"Uh." Naruto pulled back, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess I did. But they were worried about you too, they shouldn't be far behind!"

"Idiot!" Sakura gently thwapped the top of Naruto's head. "Go back and get your team before something happens to them! We've got the Ame team with us, we'll be fine until all of you are here."

"Right, right, I'm going! I'm going!"

When Naruto returned the second time, Ino and Chouji were in tow, breathing deep, heaving breaths as they fell over in front of Sakura's tent.

"Sakura, I need you to tell me how you kept _up_ with this monster." Ino groaned. "I don't think my lungs have burned this much in my _life_."

"I didn't." Sakura answered honestly. "Naruto's just got way too much stamina."

"I said I was sorry!" Naruto whined. "But if Sakura was in danger, I needed to get there right away! Shikamaru said we needed to look after her in the exam!"

"Yeah, and just our luck we ended up on the other side of the damn woods."

"Food…" Chouji mumbled, crawling his way towards the nearby fire. "Gotta have...food…"

"Get your own!" Samidare called out, pulling his roasted fish out of Chouji's reach. "It took me an hour to find these!"

The two boys began to scuffle over the fish, but there was something about the scenario that just brought a smile to Sakura's face. Now that Team Ten was here, she felt a weight lift itself from her shoulders. She was with friends. She would be _safe_.

It was another two hours before Team Eight arrived as well, led there by a combination of Akamaru's keen nose and Hinata's Byakugan. Both teams were under similar orders from Shikamaru, it seemed, to rendezvous with Sakura's group and keep each other safe. A little late for Danzo's assault, unfortunately, but their presence would dissuade further attacks, and it allowed the Ame group the peace of mind to leave Sakura in the hands of friends.

As evening began to settle in, the Konoha rookies began to plan.

"If there are any more shinobi under Danzo, they likely won't be as effective against us again." Sakura began to explain. "Trying to undo Gaara's seal is something that is only going to have worked the one time. Sai made a brand new seal, so even if they try again, their scrolls won't have any effect on us. The only thing Danzo can hope for now is for somebody to straight up kill us, which isn't going to be likely if the nine of us stick together and cover each other's back."

"This is not the only advantage being afforded to us. What else, you might ask? If the nine of us work together, none of the exam fortresses will be able to withstand our effort." Shino added. "Hinata spotted four fortresses on our journey over, and I have tagged the location with my beetles. Tomorrow, we can return to these locations and attempt to retrieve the treasures we need to pass."

"And if we see any teams, Hinata can check if they've already gotten their 'treasures'!" Kiba reached over to nudge his teammate. "If it's nine on three, we can easily take out our opponents and claim the prize for us!"

"Make that eight instead of nine." Sakura insisted. "Even if Sai wakes up, he won't be in good shape after using so much chakra on Gaara's seal. On the off chance there's another preliminary tournament to go through after this phase of the exam, we need to make sure he's in top shape to fight."

"Here's a thought. We can keep this setup for a base." Ino put forward. "Every time we get a treasure, we can return here and have a couple of us stay behind to look after them. That way we don't have to move Sai yet either, he can sit and recover while we do the heavy lifting."

"I could stay behind." Gaara offered. "But, that means…"

"If these guys can't keep me safe, Gaara, _nobody_ can." Sakura cut Gaara off before he could protest further. "You're the best of us here at defense, and with Emi around you'll be able to pick out enemies coming before they even see the tent."

Emi let out a small bark of what could only be agreement. She had been playing with Akamaru nearby, but Sakura couldn't help but notice that the little tanuki always seemed to be listening in. There was more to the animal than met the eye.

From there, the plan was simple. Sakura would move out alongside the other two teams in the cover of darkness to the closest fortresses. They would return each time a treasure was retrieved to hide it within the safety of their disguised tent, under Gaara's watch. Once they had three treasures, all nine of them would return to the border, then go their separate ways to return to their starting locations.

As night hit and they made their way into the woods, Sakura realized that this exam had its flaws, in that it was entirely dependant on teams _not_ working together. They ran across one enemy team in the darkness, and even seven against three was enough of an advantage to take the poor team down within a matter of minutes. On top of that, the team had already gotten a treasure, which meant that they were now up one and had one less fortress to try and infiltrate.

It was curious, Sakura thought to herself. It was so ingrained within shinobi culture to only trust one's own team, to not reach out towards others. The odds were stacked against teamwork, of course, but even if every team had doubled up with another, it still meant a better chance of taking a treasure and keeping it. This was the mentality that she was fighting against with the neutrality pact. Shinobi had been trained to work against each other. Sakura had to show them that working _with_ each other was the true way to go.

By the dawn of the third day, the Konoha rookies had retrieved three treasures, and by then Sai had finally awakened. His chakra reserves were still near empty, and even Chouji's food pills were not quite enough to bring him to fighting capacity. Despite this, Sai looked more content than Sakura had ever seen him.

"We're alive." He kept saying, smiling genuinely as he looked towards her and Gaara.

"Yup." Sakura would always reply in turn. "We're still kicking."

There were still four days left in the exam, which meant they could technically try to allow themselves rest to give Sai time to recuperate, but that just meant the potential for enemy teams to find them and attempt to take their stash. In the end, they decided that it wasn't worth the risk. Sai was too tired to run with the group, but the problem was solved quickly when Gaara pulled the boy up onto his back and wordlessly insisted upon carrying him. Sai unusually did not protest at the treatment, perhaps too exhausted for his usual snark.

They came to blows with two enemy teams on the way out, but there were very few teams that could stand up to the might of two Jinchuuriki, as well as the heirs to several of the most prominent clans in Konoha. By the evening of the third day, the Konoha rookies had reached the border, and after one final mad dash, Sakura and her team had returned to the small wooden building where their exam had begun.

Treasure retrieved. Second exam completed. They were _alive_, and now, more important than the exam, they had the evidence they needed to finally start bringing down Root. Sakura had stored the seals she'd retrieved from the Root shinobi, as well as Suna's old tea kettle. Not enough to challenge Danzo on its own, and even with what she and Shikamaru had collected, it would still take a small miracle for everything to come together.

But, Sakura thought as she touched her necklace, miracles were starting to become less and less unlikely.

* * *

Those who passed the second exam early were taken to a building back within Konoha's walls: a large hotel where they were given rooms to rest and recuperate until the exam's time frame was over. It was a relief to allow herself to pass out on a soft hotel bed, and she and Sai both slept for about half a day now that they no longer had to worry about enemy shinobi. Sakura was the first of the two to awaken, and when she did, she awoke to the sound of Gaara quietly looking at the new seal on his stomach. Every time he flared his chakra, the seal darkened and came to life. Sakura recognized a yin-yang pattern, with some artistic additions, and resolved to ask Sai the meaning behind it when he awoke.

"You said things were different." She spoke quietly to Gaara. "With you and Shukaku. What exactly did Sai do?"

"Shukaku keeps saying even he doesn't exactly know. The harmony of yin and yang energy is a very old concept. Before there was the five elemental nature transformations, humans used yin and yang transformations to harness their chakra. The implication of a perfect harmony between yin and yang is something that hasn't been considered since...the Sage of Six Paths." Gaara's gaze seemed to focus at this, and Sakura recognized the signs of Shukaku speaking to Gaara's mind, and Gaara listening in. "Shukaku says...it was that balanced technique that allowed the Bijuu to exist at all to begin with."

"So the Bijuu were _created_?" Sakura asked, baffled. "The way the legends speak of them, I thought they'd always just _been_."

Gaara shook his head. "They're old, but...I got glimpses of it. Shukaku's memories. Shukaku was _created_. Created..._from_ something." He suddenly winced, grasping at his head. "...I don't think Shukaku wants to talk about it."

"So what you're saying is, Sai accidentally used a symbol that just happened to coincide with the technique that led to Shukaku's creation. So of _course _a seal like that would better integrate with a Bijuu's energy." Sakura concluded. "If I had to guess, Sai was intending to try and make a harmony between you and Shukaku. But he tapped into an older energy in the process. And it's that which has made the way your chakra interacts with Shukaku's so much different than it was in the past."

"Symbiosis." Gaara finishes. "Our chakra aren't fighting each other. We...we sort of hit an understanding. I felt things, and Shukaku felt similarly. I think...I think we have more in common than he'd like to admit."

"You can say thank you whenever you'd like, Grumpy."

Sai had finally awoken, and despite the bluntness, Gaara gave the boy a smile. "Thank you." He said plainly. "You saved my life."

"...we made a promise, didn't we?"

"A promise to keep _Sakura_ safe."

"I guess you got added to the equation at some point."

Sakura wasn't going to ask about the nature of this promise. Something within her thought to that night back in Taki, when Sai had come home with a black eye and the boys had very insistently lied about what the true problem had been. Had they come to an understanding back then? Was that when the promise had been made?

"I've been thinking about something, Sakura." Sai's voice broke her from her thoughts. "Back when you were facing down Tera. The shinobi with the senbon. That electricity should have rendered you unable to move."

"Yeah, it definitely should have." Sakura agreed. "But something happened…"

"Yes. Those strange markings on your face."

"Markings?" Sakura blinked. "I don't remember any markings."

"Of course you wouldn't have. You weren't looking at yourself at the time. But there were markings on your face." Sai pulled out his notebook and began to sketch. "They started at your forehead, but they spiraled outwards as you moved. They were...dark. Black. I haven't seen anything like it before." He turned his book around so Sakura could see the drawing. It was her own face, but as Sai described, there were markings on it now. Dark lines made their way down her face, some of them merging together as they made their way towards her neck. At her forehead, the most prominent of the markings, there was a circle. One solid dark circle, and then a pale ring of unaffected skin around the circle, followed by dark markings again from which the others spiraled outwards.

"Was that...really how I looked?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded. She traced over the drawing with her finger. There was something familiar about the style of the markings, and though it wasn't exact, Sakura couldn't help but think…

_That was almost like what Hidan had looked like, back then_.

But Gaara had a different thought. He reached out to touch Sakura's back, his own hand tracing the white circle that had adorned Sakura's clothes for as long as she could remember. "It's like the symbol you wear." He pointed out. "The white circle."

"A circle isn't exactly unique. That has to be a coincidence." Sakura shook her head. "Some _weird_ sort of coincidence."

A coincidence...but was it really? The visions she experienced, the sudden burst of power...it had to have come from somewhere.

_Maybe even given to her…_

"I don't know what it was." Sakura admitted. "But once our business here in Konoha is done...I'm _going_ to find out."


	55. Chapter 55

On the final day of the second exam, Danzo came to her.

It wasn't entirely unexpected, Sakura supposed. They'd foiled his efforts to kill him and remove Shukaku, and at this point the secret battle between them was more than personal. It was almost an honor to receive him; it meant that she had proven herself worthy of an audience. She had seen Danzo before, of course, at special Konoha events such as Tsunade's inauguration, but never before had she ever spoken with the man.

Danzo had waited until the time was right. Technically, those who completed the second exam were not allowed visitors until the exam was completely, but naturally these things did not stop the man. It was more than likely that at least one of the guards posted around the building was Root anyway.

Danzo announced himself with a light knock on their door, and it was Gaara who answered. The exchange that followed between them had been...admittedly a bit humorous to watch. Neither of them said a word, simply looking at each other with various glares and surly expressions until Gaara finally stepped back and allowed the man into the room. Danzo was alone, and perhaps that was the only reason that Gaara even allowed it. The boy had gained a bit of confidence with Sai's new seal, and had no doubt come to the conclusion that if Danzo tried anything, he could handle it.

But Sakura did not think that she would die that night. Now that she had passed the second phase, she was no longer in the 'kill' zone. Coming to murder her in her waiting room would draw an unwanted investigation. Danzo had wanted to take her out legally, without drawing any attention to Root or his manipulation of the foreign kage. He'd lost that opportunity, and as long as she was safe within Konoha's walls, it would be difficult for him to move against her again.

No, Danzo just wanted to talk. Sakura was certain of this.

He looked old, and with half his face and one of his arms completely bandaged, Sakura wondered at first how it was possible that such an unassuming man could keep reign over a group like Root. But within moments of his first words, Sakura realized that was the _point_. He had almost custom designed his look so as to appear unthreatening, to make people look the other way, but despite this his voice commanded _presence_. A Shadow Ruler indeed.

"Sakura Haruno." He said simply.

"Danzo Shimura." Sakura let herself reply.

They each sat across from each other in the room's lounge. Sakura noted that Sai watched from afar, but did not join them in the room. He was deathly afraid of his former leader, that much was apparent even from Sakura's peripheral glance.

Danzo was not here to kill her. But that did not mean he was not a man to be feared.

"It is my hope we may speak plainly with each other here." Danzo began. "I sent a dozen of my soldiers into the chuunin exams, and only one has returned to me. Clearly you have progressed as a shinobi far more than my reports have suggested." He reached into the folds of his robe, pulling forth a small brown folder. He opened it and began to read. "Sakura Haruno. You graduated from the Academy as the top kunoichi of your generation, second highest student overall. Perfect written exam scores, and above average grasp of Academy taijutsu and the basic three Academy jutsu. You were noted for having above average chakra control and were recommended for genjutsu training...a recommendation that was ignored by your superior officer." At this point, Danzo looked up to Sakura again, and their eyes met. Sakura wasn't surprised by the file; Academy records were available to anyone of chuunin rank or above. But why bring it up now?

"You were placed in a team with the last Uchiha and the Jinchuuriki boy." Danzo continued. "And while you were noted to have performed adequately on your team's...accidental A-ranked mission, and while you were allowed to take part in last year's chuunin exams, your development at that point...well, it was certainly subpar."

Sakura frowned. So he was just here to insult her, then?

"No defining jutsu or techniques. No distinct fighting style. No experience in a specialized field that would have suited you, such as tactics or infiltration. It was more than expected for the Uchiha heir and the Jinchuuriki to perform as well as they did. It was more than expected that you should fail while they succeeded. In fact, our system was designed as such."

That caused Sakura to blink in surprise. A system designed for her to fail? It didn't make _sense_. "Is it not the purpose of the Academy to push forward as many capable shinobi as are needed for the village?"

"You are correct. Most teams are concocted around a specialty, so that they may succeed and thrive under their jounin's tutelage. You can think of your own classmates as a fine example. Team Ten was put together naturally. The Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara clans have been working in tandem for generations. To separate them would be folly. They work excellently as an infiltration team, but also for specialized assault. Team Eight was put together as a tracking and reconnaissance team. The Byakugan's visual capability is almost unmatched. The Aburame clan beetles can be deployed in almost any situation without detection, and can be used to follow a designated prey over long distances. The Inuzuka clan...they speak for themselves. Those were just two of the teams designed under the Academy doctrine. Tell me then, Sakura, for what purpose was your team designed?"

"The two top shinobi with the bottom graduate. I was told it was meant to compose a team that would be able to make up for the weaker shinobi." Sakura swallowed as she considered her team. "Of course, in this particular case, the weaker shinobi was a Jinchuuriki. Once he came into his Bijuu's power, he could hardly be considered weak anymore."

"No, he could not." Danzo agreed. "As I said, a civilian girl partnered with the heir of a powerful clan and, essentially, a fountain of chakra. The Uchiha are well-rounded. Their genjutsu proficiency as well as their ability to mimic the techniques of their foes makes them suited for information gathering, but they are more often used for more powerful assault formations. A Jinchuuriki? A tool, a _weapon_ for the village. A civilian girl?" He looked to Sakura again, and she averted her eyes, realizing now exactly what the man was implying.

"I was the weaker shinobi." She admitted. "But...it wasn't simply to make up for my deficit, was it?"

"No. That team, that composition...for you specifically, Sakura Haruno, it was a _trial_."

With that, Danzo stood, his arms folded in front of him. He began to pace as he spoke, and Sakura was given the impression then that this wasn't a conversation that Danzo was used to having. The man seemed almost..._nervous_.

"In every generation there is a graduate that is passed along to a team of titans. This graduate is often civilian born, with no unique skills of their own, but often holding some measure of untapped talent. Placed into such a situation, alongside shinobi that naturally hold skill that initially far surpasses their own, this graduate has two paths that they fall into. They can fail under the pressure of living up to their teammates' accomplishments, or they can find drive and push themselves to _match_ their teammates' accomplishments." Danzo continued to pace as he began to list shinobi. "Your jounin commander was part of one such team. His teammate Rin Nohara was placed similarly alongside an Uchiha and the sole remaining member of the once prominent Hatake clan. She thrived and found success as a medical shinobi, able to keep her teammates alive whenever they were injured on missions. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, is a fine example of succeeding in such an environment. His team also consisted of an Uchiha, as well as a Hyuga, and in spite of this it was _Minato_ who caught the eye of his jounin commander and ended up studying extensively under him as his apprentice, until such time as he became a fine shinobi in his own right. Of the three Sannin, as you know them, a civilian born Jiraiya was placed alongside a member of the revered Senju clan and an orphaned prodigy, yet despite this he is known to be of equal strength to them today."

So many teams set up under this mindset, Sakura realized. Several of which produced _legendary_ shinobi. This method _had_ been thought out. A no-name civilian might have faded to obscurity in a specialized team. In _this_ sort of team, a civilian had a chance to become _great_.

Though Sakura had to wonder how many of these crafted teams had ended in failure. Something Danzo had yet to address.

"Believe it or not, I, too, was in one such team." Danzo's voice pulled Sakura from her thoughts. "An Uchiha, and Akimichi, and me...my father was a shinobi, but not one of reputation. Yet here I stand today, a Konoha councilman and second in command over the village behind the Lady Tsunade. Our successes were gambles, but it was decided before my time that if that was what it took to produce legends, then it was a gamble our village was willing to take. And thus, we return to you." Danzo stopped pacing, turning to face Sakura again. "A no-name civilian girl who left the Academy without any skills to her name other than her mind and a talent for chakra control. When faced with the success of your teammates, you found the drive to reach for something greater than either of your teammates thought to reach. The Uchiha seeks revenge. The Jinchuuriki seeks the Hokage title. You seek to unite the shinobi world. You have taken the ambition to match your peers farther than any shinobi of your type has taken their own. It is unfortunate, truly, that such ambition is shrouded in naivety. You will not unite the shinobi world, Sakura Haruno. It will be impossible."

Sakura could not keep herself from standing up at this. "It's only impossible because people like _you_ stand in my way." She retorted angrily. "If you hadn't been whispering in the ears of every Kage that arrived here, I might have had most the world united _already_."

"United, perhaps, but for how long? How long do you expect each village to keep to your treatise? Do you truly think Sand would stand for Plains to take up their land and not experience justice for their rebellion? Do you truly think Leaf and Stone could put aside the animosity of a hundred years of war? Do you think that Cloud has forgotten the Third War? That Mist can put aside their bloody history in search of peace?"

"I have to think that. I _have_ to." Sakura insisted. "Because nobody _else_ is thinking it. The only reason you think it's impossible is because you've never seen anyone _try it_. Maybe it won't happen in my lifetime. Maybe it won't happen for a hundred years. But as long as the world knows the option is there, _peace will come_."

They held each other's gaze for a while, and Sakura learned then just how it was that Danzo and Gaara could have an entire conversation with gaze alone. She held firm, and she could almost _feel_ Danzo judging her then. He hadn't come here to lecture her, no, he had come here to see just what kind of person he was up against.

Danzo finally nodded, and Sakura felt the tension in the room break. "I see." He spoke. "Then as it is, Sakura Haruno, we have little more to discuss. I will be curious to see whose ambitions prove the greater."

He turned to leave then, stopping only as he reached the door. "That look in your eyes is very similar to someone I used to know."

"Oh?"

"They used to call Hashirama Senju a fool for wanting to unite the warring shinobi clans into one villages. But whenever I saw the look in that man's eyes, I knew there was little he wasn't capable of. Then again…" Danzo chuckled. "He nearly lost it all at the hands of the man he considered his friend. His naivety could have led to Konoha's destruction." Danzo opened the door to leave then, saying only one more thing before leaving Sakura's sight.

"For your sake, I hope you are more prepared for the trials ahead."

* * *

In the end, ten teams _did_ pass the second exam, meaning a total of thirty shinobi would move onto the next phase. Sakura and her team were herded with the others to a new building, and once she saw that the inside of said building was a large training field, Sakura knew that it was time for the exams to repeat themselves. There were still too many shinobi for the third, tournament phase of the exam: there would have to be preliminaries.

As the examinees were marched into the building, Sakura saw that there were, like before, upper levels where jounin senseis and Kage alike had gathered to watch the preliminaries took place. Despite the fact that some did not have teams that had qualified, _all_ of the Kage had shown up to watch, and Sakura knew it was to keep an eye on her specifically. There would be no relying on Gaara or Sai to back her up here. This would be a one on one fight, and if she didn't shine, that was game over.

Her team had gotten several days of rest, which gave her an edge over a few of the teams. The Konoha rookies, of course, all looked ready for combat, as well as Lee's team, which had beaten the rookies by a full twenty hours. Sakura saw Fuu's team as well, alongside a somewhat familiar looking Iwa team that had skated in during the final hour. She caught a glimpse of six Suna headbands, and from there the two teams remaining hailed from Kusa and Konoha respectively. A fair spread of teams, and Sakura's team had bested most of them in completing the second phase. Many of these shinobi looked tired, and Sakura prayed to whatever god had seen fit to look after her in the exams that she would face one of the tired ones. She would take an easy match after all she'd been through the past few days.

Tsunade gave a speech, most of which Sakura was too nervous to pay attention too, and from there the participants were dismissed to the viewing stands. Then, a screen was brought forth at the front of the arena.

Names began to flicker across the screen as the program chose the first two fighters. Sakura heard both Naruto and Lee yelling in the distance, each wanting to be first into the frey. Sakura wasn't quite sure if she wanted to go first or last. She'd had a couple of days to prepare, so why not get it done quickly? If she was allowed to stew with her nerves, it would only be detrimental.

The screen halted, and Sakura's heart sank into her chest.

**Sakura Haruno VS Rock Lee**

..._crap_.

Lee was one of the toughest fighters she'd ever met, and she'd _seen_ what he was capable of when he'd faced Gaara last year. She wasn't going to be quick enough to keep up with his speed, and she didn't have Gaara's perfect defense. On top of that, how could she bring herself to put in her all against one of her best friends? It was different facing an enemy she didn't know, but a friend? Even when she'd faced Ino the previous year, there had been a part of her that had always held herself back.

She felt both Sai and Gaara reach out to squeeze her shoulder before she turned and began to make her way back down to the arena. Lee, of course, was whooping with joy at not only getting to go first, but at getting to face his 'eternal rival'. Sakura _had_ wanted to see how she fared against Lee, but not _here_, not when the future of the neutrality pact was literally on the line.

She didn't even realize she'd made it below until she naturally came to a stop in front of Lee. The exam proctor stood between them, explaining the rules of the match before lifting his hand to prepare to announce the match's start. Sakura's hands balled into fists.

What was she supposed to _do_?

"Sakura."

Lee spoke in a manner that was unusually serious, and his large eyes bored into her own with...not intensity, but something _else_, something Sakura couldn't identify.

"Please honor me by not holding back in this match."

"L-Lee-" Sakura stammered.

"I have come here today to see how I measure up to my new rival. I want to make sure that our match is one that will be talked about for months to come!" Lee shifted, settling into a stance. "When I first met you, Sakura, I wanted to impress you. I wanted you to see me as a shinobi of great skill and value. It is funny now that you have instead become a shinobi that has impressed me!"

Sakura felt her heart pound stronger in her chest. Lee was...was he really saying…?

"I want the people watching to see today that I am capable of standing on the same ground as the kunoichi who will unite the shinobi nations! Even if I do not make chuunin today, I want to prove myself to you as I once wanted to when we first met. So please, Sakura, do not hold anything back! Let us show them what we are capable of!"

Sakura understood it then. Lee wasn't thinking about the chuunin exams any longer. Lee had figured out what was at stake. He wasn't just telling her not to hold back.

He was telling her to _put on a show_.

A show that _he_ was going to put on with her. And who knew about putting on a scene more than the 'Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village'?

Everything clicked into place, and Sakura felt herself focus. She settled into her own stance, falling into a familiar figure of Iwa taijutsu that Onoki had shown her months before.

"Alright, Lee." Sakura agreed. "Let's do this."

The proctor's hand flew downwards, signalling the start of the match. From there, Lee exploded forward.

A single hit from Lee would likely knock her unconscious, if not disable her. Defensive, for now, would be the key. The Iwa taijutsu was one that was meant to be integrated with the use of earth jutsu for a maximum defensive technique, and though Sakura had not had long to learn it, she had been a student of the Tsuchikage himself and she would _not_ let him down. She thrust chakra through her front leg and stomped her foot into the ground, at the same time rushing through a set of hand signs. A thick wall of earth erupted in front of her, just in time to intercept Lee's thrusting kick. But Sakura didn't allow herself to stop there. She thought back to Lee's fight with Gaara, and she remembered that the boy was able to turn on a time in order to attack from multiple angles. She swept her foot around her in an arc, pumping forth chakra and flying through the hand signs again and again until there was a circle of earthen wall around her. That only left above, and she couldn't afford to let Lee hop into her earthen arena and make this a close quarters fight. Sakura quickly threw her hands to the ground and created a tunnel beneath her. She dove into it and sealed it behind her, and the filling earth pushed her forward to the other side of the arena. She resurfaced just in time to see Lee jumping over her walls, and an idea sprung in her mind. Lee had lost sight of her, and it would only be for a moment, but that gave her _more_ than enough time to set herself up.

A few hand signs later, Sakura had generated four earth clones. Each of the clones went to a different corner of the room, drawing a 'kunai' and preparing for a scuffle. The real Sakura, however, created another tunnel that connected her back to the interior of the four walls she had made before. As Lee hopped out of the wall's boundaries, he would be greeted by the four clones, not knowing that the real Sakura had made her way _back_ into her walled sanctuary. It was a fast-paced game of hide and seek, and if Lee found her too early, _that_ was truly game over. Still, Sakura hoped that the clones would distract him long enough for her to make some quick preparations.

Despite his extravagant behavior, Lee wasn't an idiot. Once he'd figured out that the four Sakuras outside were all clones, he wouldn't just hop into her sanctuary again like he had before. That would just give Sakura an opportunity to perform the same trick again, hopefully wearing Lee out in the process. Since Lee _wasn't_ an idiot, Sakura could assume that he would instead focus on break the wall down with his monstrous strength, that way she couldn't hide at all. Knowing that, Sakura could prepare. Unless Lee had suddenly found an interest in exploding tags, he would likely charge, taking a frontal assault against whichever wall was closest to him. All she had to do was keep track of where Lee was, and then time an offensive jutsu to hit right before his attack landed on her wall. She resorted to her sensing jutsu, which at first seemed like a potential dead end. Lee was a taijutsu user for a reason; his chakra reserves were _miniscule_. Her sensing jutsu barely picked up on him at all, and even then he was moving too fast for her to keep her eyes on him. However, Sakura found that she could sense the presence of her own clones, and that was the clue she needed to succeed. Two of her clones were already down, and her third was moving back and forth, trying to duck and weave its way around Lee's attack. It didn't last long, however, which meant that Lee would be making his way to the fourth clone, and once that one was done…

He would attack from that side.

Seconds passed, and Sakura forced herself to breathe. Fighting Lee was _intense_, and he only gotten faster since the last time she'd seen him fight. As her fourth clone dissipated, she knew that she would have less than a second to figure out the timing of her technique. She risked one more sensing burst to confirm Lee's location. He'd stopped briefly, but the last thing her jutsu picked up on was his small bit of chakra rushing towards her.

Sakura slapped her hands onto the ground and poured chakra, aiming for the other side of the wall in front of her. Behind the wall, an earthen pillar shot upwards, and Sakura knew it had hit when she saw Lee's somewhat limp form lifted into the air above the walls.

Sakura allowed herself a mental cheer at landing the hit, but the celebration didn't last long. Lee recovered quickly, twisting in midair and using Sakura's pillar as a push-off point to launch himself into Sakura's sanctuary. Exactly what she'd been hoping to avoid.

Shit.

She narrowly dodged a kick from Lee, and from there she was suddenly caught in a whirlwind of fists and feet. Despite this, Sakura found that it wasn't _impossible_ to dodge. Lee was definitely putting on a show of attacking her, but every now and then a punch was held back that might have knocked her out. Surely, Sakura thought, the Kage would be able to tell that Lee was holding back...but then she remembered that they were surrounded by earth. Every spectator's view of the spar would be obscured, which meant this was a moment for each of them to catch their breath and figure out what they were going to do next.

"Beneath you." Sakura spoke quietly, trying to mask it with her breathing. She saw Lee nod, and from there she put her next plan into motion. She ducked, slamming her hands down and generating several earth pillars around her. Lee had to jump high to avoid being hit, and as he expertly landed on top of one of the pillars, Sakura prepared another jutsu, one that Kakashi had been drilling into her since their time in Waterfall. She gathered chakra up into her mouth, letting the pressure build, until she expelled it into the form of a water bullet directly at Lee. Lee had to leap off of the pillar to dodge it, and instead of rejoining Sakura down below, he leapt backwards and out of the sanctuary.

From there, Sakura let herself take a page out of Gaara's book. It had worked against Hiroshi, and while she couldn't maneuver earth as well as Gaara moved sand, she could mimic the effect if she was smart. Her hands flew, and she allowed herself to create another pillar of earth, this time angling it towards the wall that stood between her and Lee. She made the pillar thicker than usual, and the result was that the pillar hit the solid wall and began to push it outwards _towards_ Lee. Sakura thought Lee would simply dodge, but the wall hit true, pushing into Lee and eventually collapsing the wall on top of him.

Seconds passed, and Sakura took heaving breaths. Using so much earth jutsu in a short amount of time had already begun to drag on her reserves, and if the fight dragged on too much longer, she definitely wouldn't win it. It was no surprise to her when Lee crawled out of the rubble of her wall, and definitely not a surprise for Lee to push himself to his feet once again.

"You have indeed become a strong shinobi, Sakura." Lee commented, and Sakura noticed that he was _also_ breathing heavily. "If this fight goes on for much longer, I am afraid that I will not be able to keep up with you."

It was a bluff, it had to be. Lee hadn't even removed his _weights_...but of course, there were only a few people in the room that knew about them.

"Still, I have never been one to give up! Sakura, you promised me you would not hold back, so I shall honor you by not holding back now!"

Lee took up a fighting stance again, but as his eyes met Sakura's, he winked.

This was going to be the end of the fight, and Lee was going to make sure it was a _dramatic_ one.

He would go at her with a frontal charge, and knowing that, Sakura began to pump the rest of her chakra towards her legs. The instant she saw movement, she pushed herself into the air, letting the momentum of her jump carry her into a flip. From there, she let gravity carry her downward, and aimed an arcing kick towards where she had been a moment before. Lee reached the spot quickly, fist at the ready, but Sakura could see that the boy hesitated at the last second. He was giving her an opening.

Lee was giving her the win, and Sakura knew then and there that it would only dishonor him to hold back.

Her kick landed with the back of his head, sending him slamming into the ground with a crack that made her wince. She landed on her knees, looking admittedly desperate as she checked to make sure Lee hadn't been too severely injured by the kick. The boy was breathing, but his eyes were shut. Unconscious, or pretending to be.

"Thank you." She whispered to him, and she could have sworn she saw Lee's lips turn up in a small smile. She owed him one. No, she owed him a _lot_ more than one. The Kage got a show of her strength, she was moving on to the next round, and it was all because of him.

The proctor called the match, and Sakura kept her head held high as she made her way back to the viewing stands. She would _not_ let Lee's actions be in vain.

As she rejoined her teammates, each of them moved to congratulate her.

"You've made a proper mess of the arena." Sai commented. "Other shinobi will now have raised terrain to use to their advantage."

"_You're_ part of those other shinobi." Sakura pointed out. "You can thank me for my contributions to your success any time."

"I won't thank you until I win. Hopefully I'll be matched with a shinobi within my skill level. I would hate to see myself paired up against one of the clan children." Sai answered, his gaze shifting to the Konoha rookies, who had all come to stand around her. "Though, if I'm against Brainless, I think I'll be okay."

"Hey, you'd better watch it." Naruto growled back. "I'll mess up your pretty boy face if I have to take you on down there."

"Messing up my face won't make yours look any better."

"Why you little-"

The boys continued to bicker as the next match began. An Iwa shinobi faced off against a Konoha shinobi, and the match was blatantly in Iwa's favor. The earth walls proved to be a vital bit of terrain for a shinobi of Earth country, and the match was over in a matter of minutes.

Three more matches passed. Gaara was drawn for the fourth match, paired up against a Suna shinobi that immediately surrendered upon the match's announcement. Gaara still had a reputation in his village, it seemed, and given what he had been like the year before, Sakura didn't blame the shinobi for not wanting to take Gaara on.

Fuu took on another Suna shinobi, beginning the match with a passionate declaration to Hinata about 'showing off her skills'. The opponent put up a decent fight, but there were few that could stand against the might of a trained Jinchuuriki. Similarly so, Naruto took down a Kusa shinobi, using a simple technique that Sakura understood to be 'fill the entire arena with clones and beat the shinobi down until they couldn't fight back anymore'. She knew Naruto had been training other techniques, so she smiled when she realized that Naruto was purposely keeping those techniques a secret for the _true_ third phase of the exam.

The preliminaries weren't all in favor of Sakura's friends. Tenten hit a wall as she faced down a Kusa shinobi with a wicked proficiency in genjutsu, and Ino hit a bad matchup as she was faced off against Shino. Match after match passed, and Sakura could almost see Sai getting more tense as his name was passed over again and again. There was a much smaller pool of shinobi to pick from now, and of those, some formidable opponents still remained.

Those fears came to a head as Sai was finally called, on the second to last match. His opponent was none other than Neji Hyuuga.

Sai smiled pleasantly, and had only a single word to say.

"Fuck."


	56. Chapter 56

Root had, since its founding, maintained comprehensive notes on each of the Konoha clans. This was one of its more well-kept secrets; clans didn't particularly like others knowing their secrets, and if such information were to get into the hands of an enemy, it could spell doom for every individual _in_ a clan. Root naturally kept these notes under the highest security it could manage. Sai had gotten to look at these notes once, upon his graduation from Root's training program. Root shinobi were the ones called to manage most defections from the village, after all, and Danzo had justified maintaining such accurate clan notes as a safety precaution. If a Nara decided to defect and needed 'disposing of', for example, Root agents would need to know the limitations of their shadow jutsu and how best to counter. Sai had been given six hours to memorize the notes. A part of him wished his younger self had been rebellious enough to try and copy the notes in secret. Maybe if he'd had the full set, he would have been able to come up with a quicker strategy for facing Neji Hyuuga.

Instead, all Sai had were what he had chosen to memorize at the time. There were several hard and fast rules for approaching a Hyuuga, and he focused on those to begin with.

The first rule was to never fight a Hyuuga alone.

As Sai made his way down to the arena, coming to a stop face to face with Neji, he allowed himself to inwardly laugh.

Already failed step one.

The second rule was to never engage a Hyuuga in close combat. Their Jyuuken was a superior taijutsu style on its own, but combined with closing off chakra nodes? A guaranteed loss. Sai vaguely remembered hearing that Naruto had defeated Neji the year before, despite being on the receiving end of the Sixty-Four Palms technique, but Sai was no Jinchuuriki. Thankfully, Sai considered himself a long-range specialist anyway.

In any other scenario, long range fighter versus close range fighter would have put things solely in his favor. The Hyuuga, however, had a unique rotating technique that was perfect for shielding them from...well, pretty much anything, close and long range alike. But unlike most people, Sai knew the _third_ rule about the Hyuuga, and perhaps the most important.

The Hyuuga had a blind spot.

He'd never been sure exactly how Danzo had procured such incredibly important information, and now that he thought about it, if the Hyuuga ever found out that there was a sect in Konoha that knew this secret, there likely would be…

Sai smiled.

Admittedly, the thought simply hadn't occurred to him before now. The existence of these clan dossiers, detailing their secrets, weaknesses, strengths...it wasn't necessarily _illegal_ to know those secrets, but the clans would certainly riot over not having been _told_ about this knowledge breach. He'd discussed with Sakura's old friends the implications of Root having stolen children for their ranks, particularly children from clans such as the Aburame, which they already had a small amount of evidence to prove. They'd never, however, discussed what Root might have _learned_ from stealing clan children. An Uchiha might have been 'lost to war', raised in their ranks so that Danzo could study the Sharingan. A Yamanaka child might have 'perished in childbirth', and instead grew up in Root, taking the natural talent for their possession jutsu with them.

Maybe the odds of him succeeding in battle against the Hyuuga prodigy were lower than if he'd been sent against a clanless genin. But that didn't mean he still couldn't turn this situation to his advantage in a completely different way.

He'd _survived_ Danzo's attack. Something he'd never thought possible. Danzo had thrown some of his best towards trying to take them down and they'd _survived_. And now that his mind wasn't being bogged down by the immediate threat of death, he could afford to plan. He could afford to _attack back_.

Root operated in the shadows. What was the best way to take on a group that had spent decades covering their tracks?

The best first step, of course, was to start shining a light into the darkness.

He pulled forth one of his blank scrolls and readied his brush. In front of him, Neji settled into the traditional Hyuuga fighting stance. He'd have to move quickly. He wasn't sure how much Neji knew of his own style, but the instant he realized Sai was a long range fighter, he'd be doing everything necessary to keep Sai on the ground. That meant Sai's first step was to get into the air as quickly as possible.

"Two of my team have already fallen."

Neji spoke, which caught Sai somewhat off guard. He hadn't been expecting a pre-fight conversation.

"They fought well." Neji continued. "But if I am to bring honor to my team, and to myself, I must fight better than either of them. And if you think your fight will be as easy as it was for your teammates, you are sorely mistaken."

Chakra flowed towards his eyes, and Sai saw his veins bulge with the influence of the Byakugan. Neji's message rang loud and clear. He understood that Lee had thrown his match for Sakura's success. And Gaara had already passed by his opponent's forfeit. There was no reason that all three of his team needed to pass. The Kage would have expected a Jinchuuriki to succeed, and they were more focused on the success of Sakura, the leader of the group. Whether Sai won or lost here likely wouldn't affect the success of the neutrality project. Thus, Neji had no reason to hold back.

A strange feeling passed through Sai. Some of it might have resembled fear, but it took a moment for him to realize that the feeling might actually be _anticipation_.

_I took on Danzo's team. I resealed a Jinchuuriki. I'm about to face someone strong._

_Under Sakura's influence...how far have I __**really**_ _come?_

He put on his best smile. "I wouldn't expect any less from the Hyuuga prodigy."

He could have sworn he saw a smile pass over Neji's face, however briefly. The proctor lowered his hand, and with that the fight began.

What Sai would never admit was that he pulled part of his strategy from watching Naruto's performance. He needed a way to distract Neji long enough to sketch one of his larger birds, and this method had to leave his hands free. While he certainly didn't have the chakra required to pull out a hundred shadow clones like Brainless did, he could definitely spare enough chakra to make...well, technically four, but watching his reserves for this fight could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Sai settled for two instead, throwing his hands together to bring the clones to life. They leapt forward, drawing their blades to attack. Sai, however, did not focus on the end result. Instead he put his brush to paper, drawing the form of a bird as fast as his wrist could allow. The bird sprang to life just as Neji finished dealing with the second shadow clone, and though he was quick to try and lunge Sai's way, he wasn't quick enough. With a push of its wings, the inked bird took flight, Sai resting upon its back. The ceiling was high enough that Sai could float at least ten feet above Neji's head at a leisurely pace.

"Smart." He heard Neji say. The boy had not even turned to watch Sai's circuit; granted, he didn't need to move his head to see with the Byakugan. "So you're a long-distance fighter. If you stay out of the range of the Gentle Fist, you won't have to worry about your chakra being sealed off."

"Of course." Sai replied. "I'd be foolish to fight a Hyuuga so close."

"Foolish indeed, though not impossible." Neji's head actually did turn with that statement, purposely looking towards Naruto up in the balcony. Naruto in turn gave Neji a grin that Sakura might have described as 'shit-eating'.

"I can only do it because I'm the best shinobi around, you'd better believe it!" Naruto answered. "Sai wishes he was as cool as me!"

"Oh? I wasn't aware you had been 'cool' to begin with."

"S-shut it, asshole!"

Sai let himself laugh as he began to sketch some smaller birds. It was time to see just how good the Hyuuga defense was. The birds took flight from the page and shot towards Neji at high speed. At first, Neji blocked the birds with his hands, hitting them one after the other with pinpoint precision and causing them to burst into small puddles of ink. Sai brought more birds to life at a time after that, attempting to overwhelm him. When there were too many birds to hit, Neji simply spun, expelling chakra around him to create a protective dome that hit all the birds at once.

"I've fought someone like you before." Neji spoke, continuing to block Sai's assault expertly even as he did so. "They were also a long-range fighter, using arrows to try and penetrate my defense. If not for a desperate move, I would have lost the fight. Even so, I nearly lost my life. When I recovered, I decided that I would never again be caught so off guard by someone who preferred that style of fighting. Thankfully, Lord Hiashi was willing to begin teaching me personally, and was happy to teach me a technique for just such an occasion."

With that, Neji came to a halt to face Sai. He thrust both of his hands forward, and Sai only just barely saw the air around the boy's hands begin to distort and push outwards towards him. He ducked downwards, narrowly avoiding the strong gust of air that had threatened to knock him off his bird.

He didn't remember anything about long-ranged Hyuuga attacks. Either he'd forgotten, or it was something new.

"That is the Vacuum Palm." Neji explained. "The force is strong enough to disrupt an opponent's vital organs. So long as I can see my opponent, it doesn't matter how far they are. I can hit them." The boy smirked. "And I can always see my opponent."

Cheeky. Sai wished he had a retort good enough for a comeback, but he was distracted from the thought by Neji aiming yet another of those devastating air strikes his way. The tables turned, and now Sai was desperately flying to _escape_ Neji's attacks. More humorous was seeing the spectators ducking to avoid the strikes, especially those bratty Kage that had forced Sakura into this mess to begin with. Sai tried to linger on that side of the arena more often, if only so they couldn't get comfortable.

There was a plus side to Neji's technique, though. If he was going for offensive, he couldn't do that protective rotation. That meant Sai had openings of his own, so long as he could accurately time the rhythm of Neji's strikes. A person could only move their arm so fast, and between attacks there was just enough of a break for Sai to sketch out one bird. He waited until he had a dozen ready to spring on the page, and from there began the first _true_ part of his plan.

All twelve birds sprang to life, and eleven of them shot towards Neji in a flash. Sai made sure they were spaced out; the last thing he wanted to do here was draw out the rotation again. He had the twelfth bird circle around towards Neji's backside, waiting for the opportune moment before aiming towards what Sai remembered to be the Byakugan blind spot. The bird hit true, and for the first time Sai saw his ink impact against the Neji's upper back. Neji flinched, stumbling forward, but the attack wasn't severe enough to end the match. Sai would need to land a _lot_ more for that to happen.

He saw Neji hesitate, and Sai could almost _see_ the thoughts going through his head. Had he found his blind spot? Was it luck? How had he found it so quickly?

_Keep thinking about it. _Sai urged. _This won't work unless you start questioning it._

The dance continued, Sai ducking and weaving around Neji's attacks, and Neji knocking away Sai's birds, until an expertly timed bird hit the blind spot again, and again, and again. It couldn't be just Neji now, _everyone_ who knew the Hyuuga here had to be thinking about it. How was Sai hitting him? Didn't Neji see it coming?

"How?" Neji finally demanded, panting heavily with the effort of the fight. He didn't elaborate further, but Sai knew exactly what he meant.

"How? That's a very good question." Sai answered. "I would ask your superiors about what information is being passed around about the Hyuuga. The answer might surprise you."

And there it was. The bait was set. He saw Neji's head whip towards Tsunade, who of course probably had no idea about the extent of what Danzo and Root knew. But now the _word_ was out. Not only Neji had heard this, but Hinata as well, and both of them would now have good cause to approach Tsunade about how Sai had learned of the Hyuuga blind spot. He hoped Hinata would be able to put together the true plan. If Tsunade was forced to open an investigation into this, it would lead her directly to Root. From there, all the evidence they'd gathered could be used against Danzo in an official, _Konoha_-led inquiry.

Shikamaru had told them before that his plan would be to wait until they had enough evidence. From there, he would wait for the opportune moment to bring Root's activities to light. But there was no reason Sai couldn't provide him _with_ that opportune moment, right?

They had evidence. They had due cause to investigate. And now all Sai had to do was survive a fight with what was looking to be a slightly pissed off Hyuuga.

The Vacuum Palm assault began again, and this time Sai noticed that Neji's anger and confusion had somehow allowed him to attack _faster_. He couldn't help but marvel at this. Time and time again, Danzo had told him that emotions only weakened a shinobi, but here Neji had only seemed to get stronger. He only barely had enough time to sketch more birds, and even then it was becoming increasingly difficult to manipulate Neji into leaving his blind spot open. This was slowly becoming a battle of stamina. Would Sai run out of ink before Neji ran out of chakra? Using the shadow clones had more than taken its toll on his reserves, and he had already been recovering from the chakra exhaustion he'd taken on during the second exam. If he kept using ink birds, then the battle would last far too long, and it would essentially be chance who outlasted whom. He needed to change up his strategy.

The ground was now covered in splotches of his ink. It was drained of chakra, of course, which meant that reusing it would require more of his own chakra, but if he planned this right, he'd only really need to use his chakra _once_, and the battle would be his. Sai continued to send the occasional bird Neji's way to distract him, but his true goal was now drawing long inked snakes. The snakes began to plop to the ground, one by one, slithering across the ink blotches that remained from Sai's destroyed birds and smearing it in a very specific pattern. It didn't take long for Neji to catch on, and the Hyuuga now dedicated time to stepping on snakes as they came near. This only served to aid Sai, however, as every crushed snake was more ink for him to use, and Neji couldn't attack all of the snakes _and_ defend against the birds. Sai smiled, his plan starting to come together. One by one the snakes helped create brush strokes on the ground. The _floor_ would be his canvas, and it was big enough for Sai to make whatever sort of seal his mind could think of. A chakra suppression seal would be good enough; if Neji couldn't disable his chakra points, that just left him with open-handed taijutsu. That alone wouldn't be nearly good enough to stop an onslaught of birds, or even some bigger inked animals if Sai was feeling like winning with style. All he needed was time and enough snakes to smear his design across the floor.

He noticed, about midway into the creation of his giant seal, that Neji had stopped attacking the snakes at his feet. The Hyuuga had instead decided to focus solely on the birds. Something about that triggered a warning within Sai, but he couldn't deduce in the heat of battle _why_ Neji had decided to ignore Sai's plan. Was Neji throwing the match for him after all? Though there wouldn't be a _real_ reason to complain if this was the case, Sai couldn't help being frustrated by the thought. He wanted to _win_, he realized, not just be _given_ a win. He'd thought of a plan, he wanted to see if it would _work_. But pride wouldn't be a good enough reason to give up now. If Neji wanted to give up, then Sai would show him why _that_ would be a very bad idea. The seal on the ground was nearly complete. All he had to do, risky as it was, was fall to the ground and push his chakra into the seal. With that, no more chakra for Neji.

His bird swung low, and he leaped for the edge of the seal, hands outstretched. But before his feet hit solid ground, he saw Neji turn straight for him, and then Sai realized all too late why Neji had been ignoring his snakes.

The Hyuuga had been _waiting_ for him to head for the ground. And while Sai wasn't close enough to be on the receiving end of the Gentle Fist, he _was_ in range of the Vacuum Palm. And Sai wasn't capable of dodging in midair.

..._fuck_.

The pressured air slammed into him with full force, and Sai felt his entire body thrust backwards with the power of the blow. Eventually, he was stopped, but only because his body was slammed against the wall of the arena with enough force to push all the air out of his lungs. He felt a biting pain in his abdomen. Neji had claimed the Vacuum Palm could disrupt internal organs, and now being on the receiving end of it, Sai couldn't doubt the truth of the statement. The damage was only further confirmed as he was forced to cough and the color red came up on his hand. His back was sore, at least one of his organs had been damaged, and now his legs were so shaky that he wasn't even sure if he could stand.

"It was an interesting gamble." Neji spoke, and Sai realized that his ears were ringing from the blow. "Using the ink on the ground to attempt to create a seal. But remember...I can always see my opponent. Your seal doesn't matter if you can't activate it, and for that you had to reach the ground."

Neji leaned backwards into a stance, and Sai recognized the move that Neji was preparing. The Sixty-Four Palms technique, which would seal a good majority of his tenketsu and make it near impossible to activate his seal.

Sai tried to move, desperate to _not_ be on the receiving end of such a technique. But Neji moved faster, and Sai's world became pain once again as he felt Neji's strikes land true.

Two. Four. Eight. Sixteen. Thirty-Two. Sixty-Four.

Sai fell to his knees after the final blows hit, gasping for air as he felt his chakra pull back. A normal shinobi might have passed out, and it was only the severity of his Root training that kept him conscious. _That_ was a devastating blow. The Hyuuga had truly perfected the Gentle Fist arts to a terrifying degree.

"I won't say the match is over yet." He heard Neji announce. "But you are no Naruto. I will give you a chance to forfeit now before I take this match further."

Gracious of him, perhaps. There was a very strong part of Sai that _wanted_ to quit. It would have been _smart_ to quit.

_Is this the extent of my power_?

He thought of Sakura and Gaara, inwardly disappointed even if they were too kind to outwardly show it. It had been a rough fight, sure, but after everything _that_ was where he'd chosen to give up?

He thought of Danzo, reveling in the knowledge that his defected agent couldn't even find the strength to win one simple fight against an opponent whose weaknesses he _knew_.

He thought of...himself.

Could he look himself in the mirror every day, knowing he'd given up here?

_As long as we move…_

_As long as we draw breath…_

No.

Not here.

Not yet.

He wasn't sure where it came from, but Sai found _strength_. He pushed himself to his feet, charging forward towards Neji, who clearly hadn't been expecting further assault. Coupled with the exhaustion of having to dodge Sai's attacks for so long, Neji couldn't move fast enough to avoid Sai's punch. It hit the boy square in the nose, and Sai was certain that he heard a crack as Neji was pushed back.

"I don't need chakra to win." Sai insisted. He saw blood dripping down Neji's face: broken nose for sure. It was almost a shame; Neji had a handsome face, and even with Tsunade's healing there was a possibility it wouldn't look quite the same after. But Neji hadn't held back, so neither would he.

With that, Sai allowed himself to break rule number two of fighting a Hyuuga, and he engaged in close combat. Neji recovered quickly enough to try to defend, but the Gentle Fist hadn't been cultivated to stand well against the chaotic combat style that was born from desperation. For every defensive strike Neji landed, Sai would get in an equally fierce punch or kick in turn. All Hyuuga grace was lost as Neji was pushed backwards by the assault. With one ferocious stomach kick, Neji skidded back almost ten feet, and with the new distance both fighters came to a halt. Their breath was ragged, and both were barely able to stand.

Everything hurt. But in a strange way, Sai almost felt _alive_ from the thrill of it.

"You're a good opponent." He told Neji. "It's almost sad that it's about to end."

To his surprise, Neji smiled at him in return. "I agree. I think I see it now...why Lee was always so desperate to fight Sakura after all this time."

Sai blinked in confusion as Neji forced himself into a fighting stance once more. He prepared himself in turn. He likely only had one more punch left in him, but he was going to make sure that punch had everything he had left to give.

"Someone like you would make a fine rival."

Sai could have sworn he felt something within him shift at such a declaration. Confusion almost stopped him from moving, but thankfully his instincts kicked in as Neji rushed forward, and he threw himself back into the fray, focusing all the energy he had left into one final blow.

He saw Neji's palm, outstretched, and then there was blackness.

* * *

Sai awoke in a bed, and he felt a familiar hand squeeze his own as he blinked and took in his surroundings. A hospital recovery room, by the look of things. He forced himself to sit up, despite Sakura's protests, and took in the damage he'd received. His abdomen didn't hurt as much as he remembered it, and though his hand was bandaged up, there wasn't much more that hurt other than the general exhaustion of the fight and his bruised tenketsu.

"You're finally awake, you big idiot." Sakura said fondly. "Your fight is going to cause quite a stink, you know."

"That was the intention." Sai replied. "I lost, I'm assuming."

"Nope. It was a draw. You both knocked each other flat."

It was technically better than a loss. Sai had faced down a Hyuuga and brought the fight to a draw. They were of _equal_ strength. The thought of that made him smile.

"I see."

"However, Neji demanded that he speak with us the instant you woke up. Something about 'leaked Hyuuga secrets'?" Sakura's tone changed to that of reprimanding, and she leaned forward to gently flick Sai on the forehead. "When were you going to tell us you knew top secret clan information? I am going to get _so_ much shit from Tsunade if this goes the wrong way."

"You won't." Sai insisted. "You were ignorant. I learned clan secrets from Root, and I honorably kept those secrets from you upon my defection. Besides, it's not my fault that I was _shown_ those secrets during my initial training."

"...very true." Sakura admitted. "Shikamaru stopped by and called you 'troublesome', but I think he might actually be pleased with how things went. He told us we need to play our cards right. I actually think he's talking with Neji now."

"Recruiting him to the cause?"

"I think at this point we don't have a choice. Hinata knows what we're planning, but Neji doesn't, and if he pushes the wrong way that could jeopardize what we're working for."

"If Lee was smart enough to pick up on your political situation, Neji will be able to work it out with Pineapple."

"I guess that's also true." Sakura smiled warmly. "That was one hell of a fight, though. I couldn't stop cheering when you stood up after Neji's Sixty-Four Palms assault. You looked _really_...cool."

Sai felt a warmth spread through his cheeks, and he found he somehow couldn't bring himself to look Sakura in the eyes after that. He instead looked over to Gaara, who had a small smirk at the situation.

"...it was alright."

"Cooler than your fight, Grumpy." Sai retorted. "Oh, excuse me. You didn't have one."

Sakura laughed, and even Gaara cracked a smile at the joke. They chatted for a while longer until a knock sounded at the door, and without waiting Neji walked in. His nose was heavily bandaged, but much like Sai didn't look as though he was suffering from much more than chakra exhaustion.

"I've spoken with Shikamaru." He announced, a slightly nasally tone to his voice. "Coupled with some previous chats I've had with Hinata regarding her sudden and unusual desire to spend time at the Nara compound, I believe I've deduced the nature of your current situation. You are not just here for your neutrality pact, correct?"

Sakura nodded, but didn't say more.

"I will be speaking with Lord Hiashi about the information you revealed to me today, as will Hinata, but I can tell you now how the talk will go. Hiashi will go to Tsunade to demand answers, which she is no doubt expecting. However, given what I have just learned, I felt it wise to discuss with the three of you how best to proceed. In case we can help each other out."

"We have much to bring up with Tsunade ourselves." Sakura added. "Shikamaru and I both. While I have no doubt Lord Hiashi would prefer to get answers himself, I think in the long run it would be better if we all went together. We have one month before the third exams are scheduled to take place, and we have to use that month wisely. I think if you're willing to work with us, we can get you the answers that you need and...make things better for the village overall."

"I see." Neji replied. "Then Hinata and I shall wait until you are ready, though I would not recommend waiting long."

"That will all depend on Sai." Sakura looked back towards him. "When you can walk…?"

"I can probably walk now. The Konoha healers already did a good job on whatever Neji managed to hit."

"Just as long as you promise to take it easy."

They found Shikamaru, and despite the protests of the nurses, they left the Konoha hospital and made their way to Tsunade's office. Tsunade didn't look surprised to see them, and actually shepherded them away from the office and into a room that was lined with so many protective seals that Sai was amazed anyone could enter the room at _all_. To Sai's surprise, Kakashi was waiting for them, along with a shinobi that Sai recognized as another former Root agent, 'Kinoe'.

The door closed behind them, and Tsunade sat down with a distressed groan.

"When Kakashi told me you were trouble, Sakura Haruno, I didn't realize you were going to be _this_ much trouble. Like teacher, like student."

"Maa, I suppose I was a worse influence than I thought." Kakashi added. "_I_ was the one who was supposed to be investigating Root, Sakura. Not you."

Sakura flushed pink at this. "...how long have you known?"

"Not long." Kakashi replied. "Though now it makes sense why you were writing so many letters in your time abroad. Here I thought you were just my cute, popular student, but now I know you were plotting things behind our backs."

"Plotting _good_ things!" Sakura protested. "If you _knew_ about Root this whole time, then why have you allowed them to operate as they do? Do you even _know_ half of what they get up to?"

"No." Tsunade admitted. "I don't."

And that was the problem, of course. Root operated on its own, never _needing_ to ask permission from the Hokage. That was how it had been since the time of the Third. There was never supposed to be a _need_ to question, as far as Danzo was concerned.

"I originally sent Kakashi out not just to retrieve you, Sakura, but to investigate the Root agent that had been sent to observe you. I don't think any of us could have predicted that you'd get this agent to _defect_. What we'd hoped for was Kakashi being able to get insight as to _why_ Root was interested in you. We had thought it might really be Sasuke that they were after, but at the end of the day we just weren't sure. Danzo has always been secretive. Not even Hiruzen fully understood what went on behind his back."

"Danzo once ordered the Third's execution." Kakashi added. "But since the Third pardoned the attempt, there was little that could be done about it. Root has legal permission to operate as they please, and there's never been enough evidence for Tsunade to move against them without risking Danzo leading some sort of uprising. The two are on thin ice with each other as it is."

"And then today happens." Tsunade looked towards Sai and Neji both, shaking her head. "I get _this_ announcement dropped on me in the middle of the exam preliminaries, and now I have several foreign Kage who are looking to see how I'm going to be dealing with this outburst. You directly accused me of leaking clan secrets...clan secrets that I don't even _know_."

"Not you." Sai countered. "Simply Neji's 'superiors'. Danzo falls into that category."

"So your plan is to turn the Hyuuga clan against Root, is that it?"

"No." It was Shikamaru who stepped forward now. "But it's going to be the start of a much bigger affair, and Lady Tsunade, your assistance in this is going to be paramount to our success."

"And just what is it you're trying to do?"

"Eliminate Root entirely."

There was a spell of silence, and Tsunade leaned forwards against the table, meeting Shikamaru's eyes directly.

"Alright, brat. Tell me exactly what it is you're planning."


	57. Sounding Thunder (Intermission Part Ten)

"So that's your student, then, Kakashi-sempai?"

"Yeah. My troublesome little student."

Troublesome, of course, was the biggest understatement of Kakashi's life. It was hard to believe that a year ago, Sakura was the most _well-behaved_ of his genin team. The Sakura of back then would never have dreamed of challenging Konoha's darkest system...right? But here she was, having dragged what seemed like every genin her age into this convoluted plot, a plot that he wasn't even fully allowed to _know_ about according to the Nara boy, and even despite his lack of knowledge he couldn't help but think that somehow, someway, Sakura was going to make this _work_.

But Kakashi wondered if he'd come to expect too much of her. She'd faced down Itachi, yes, she'd succeeded in the chuunin exams, yes, but this was _political_ warfare, not a fight. A different kind of animal entirely.

He'd hoped the meeting with Tsunade would have convinced Sakura to have a bit of temperance, to leave dealing with Root to her elders. Instead, now Tsunade was on _board_ with her scheme. Sakura and Shikamaru had managed to convince her this would work, had managed to give _Kakashi_ a smattering of hope that this would work, and the strangest part, the part that _really_ got to him, was the feeling that somehow the Nara had been planning for them to get on board with this scheme the entire time.

(He'd never admit it aloud, but sometimes Nara brains _really_ scared him.)

"And what are you going to do if this works?"

Tenzo was asking good questions. He usually did. If 'this' worked, if Root was somehow peacefully disbanded, if the foreign Kage were convinced to join Sakura's cause and sign into the pact...well, what else _was_ there to do? He'd technically succeeded in his mission to bring Sakura home, but naturally she wouldn't stay. She wasn't a Konoha shinobi anymore. She wasn't his cute genin acting out, running away from home, she was now an _ambassador_, and he...well, he would always be a Konoha shinobi. His home was here. His precious people were here...most of them, anyway.

"Whatever Tsunade asks of me." Kakashi ended up answering. "She might want me to help with reintegrating the Root agents to Konoha. She thinks I've done a good enough job with you."

"Many of them won't be as amicable to the idea as I was."

"Which is why I'm not fully convinced this is going to work."

"I don't think they are either. It's too hopeful to expect Danzo to step down without a fight." Tenzo was still watching Sakura and her companions as they made their way back to the civilian district. Tenzo had been watching Sakura quite closely since the meeting had started, now that Kakashi thought about it. He wondered what it was that was on the man's mind. Did he see something in Sakura that he was incapable of?

"We'll be prepared for a fight." Kakashi concluded. "We have our orders. I'll make sure the jounin are prepared for enemy forces. You'll be working on civilian evacuation."

"We fight a small-scale civil war. We win. Danzo is gone, Root disbanded. Everything works. Then what?"

"You're so worried about the future, Tenzo?"

"A war will weaken the forces of every village here. There are those that will want to take advantage. Akatsuki. Orochimaru. Even Kiri or Kumo might see there chance to take control of a slightly bigger border."

"Then we'd better hope Sakura can convince one or two of them that it's a bad idea."

It was a hopeful thought. There wasn't a chance in hell that Sakura would be able to convince _Orochimaru_ of all people to sign a peace treaty, and Kumo had been on shaky terms with Konoha after the Hyuuga incident. Kiri? Who knew what the state of it was. All Kakashi had heard as of late were rumors of civil war and unrest.

"If we win, Kakashi-sempai, I'd like your help with something."

"Oh?" Kakashi looked over, curious. Tenzo had never been the type to ask for help. Kakashi had aided him with breaking away from Root, sure, but it wasn't as though Tenzo had actively been begging for help at the time.

But Tenzo shook his head instead of answering Kakashi right away. "Maybe...we won't talk about it yet. There's too much at stake right now. But if we win, you'll help me."

It wasn't a request that time so much as an affirmation of fact. Whatever it was, Kakashi was certain he'd be more than willing to help.

"..._when_ we win." He correct Tenzo gently. "We can't afford to believe that we won't. And if we don't, we won't be around to think of it anyway."

"When we win." Tenzo agreed. And then Tenzo smiled at him, that same trusting smile that Kakashi was used to seeing from the man, even in times where the situation seemed impossibly bleak. He wondered if Tenzo placed too much trust in him sometimes, but considering all they had been through...perhaps Tenzo had simply gotten used to Kakashi being able to 'save the day'.

He only hoped he could live up to his, no _everyone's_ expectations.

* * *

Everyone was _loud_, too damn _loud_.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and let himself inwardly groan as his fellow rookies bickered around him, only _this_ time with the added bonus of a grumpy Neji Hyuuga thrown into the mix. Neji was naturally upset at how the meeting with the Hokage had gone. He was being asked to put faith into a plan he'd known nothing about, and he'd have to placate the Hyuuga elders who were no doubt frothing at the mouth to get answers as to how Sai knew about the Hyuuga's most carefully guarded secret. Shikamaru had to admit: Sai dropping that little tidbit about Root would have been _much_ more useful several weeks ago, when he'd been trying to stitch the general plan together, but sometimes you just couldn't predict how the future unfolded, no matter how many paths you tried to account for.

He just wished Neji didn't have to be so _loud_ about his discontent.

"Think of it this way, Neji." Sakura spoke up, and Shikamaru just about wanted to _kiss_ her for redirecting Neji's yelling away from him. "If we fail to live up to your clan's expectations on the matter, you can deal with it yourself. Waiting one more day isn't going to change that Root knows about your clan secret, all it's doing is giving us a chance to deal with it in a way that the Hyuuga might not be able to on their own without causing a potential civil war."

"From the sound of things, you're already _expecting_ a civil war." Neji answered in turn. "Besides, the clan will want to deal with Danzo _personally_ for spreading clan secrets-"

"What, and _our_ clans won't?" Ino butted in. "It's not just bloody _Hyuuga_ Root's got intel on, as far as Sai can remember it's _everyone_. Unless we plan on giving knives to all the clan heads and having them all come and stab Danzo at the same time, it's unrealistic to expect any one clan to have some sort of priority on dealing with him."

"But it's not _your_ clan that's just been called _out_ on the matter. The Hyuuga are _expected_ to deal with this now."

"A-and we have been!"

Surprisingly, it was Hinata who spoke up this time, though she still fiddled with her hands and found it difficult to meet Neji's eyes. Shikamaru didn't blame her. Neji had nearly killed her the year before, and even if Neji had mellowed somewhat, he still struck an intimidating figure.

"I've been involved in this too, Neji, and I'm the clan heir. You can...you can tell Father that I have decided to deal with this problem myself, as...as is befitting action of the clan heir upon learning of this insult to our clan. I can talk with him...I can talk with him tonight and help him understand."

It was definitely unnaturally bold of Hinata to step up in such a way, and Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder if, somehow, this top secret mission had been _good_ for her self esteem. Being a part of something outside her father's influence, being around those who saw value in her abilities and contributions to the cause...yes, it only made sense that Hinata would find confidence here. But the real question was whether or not she could keep that confidence when it came to facing her father.

"She'll do a better job of convincing the clan if you're in her court." Shikamaru finally spoke up. "It's a lot to ride on, Neji, but if anyone can convince the Hyuuga to play it our way, it's the two of you working together."

Neji was quiet, contemplative, and though Hinata could not yet meet his eye, that did not stop him from trying to see through _her_. Whatever he saw, whatever Hinata had implied, it was thankfully enough. Neji nodded.

"We should go now, Lady Hinata. Better to calm your father's fire now than give it time to linger."

With that, the Hyuuga left, and after a time so did the rest of the rookies. Only Sakura took time to linger, and Shikamaru could tell that it was mostly nerves. Tomorrow they would be bringing their plan together. Tomorrow they would see if it would be enough.

The problem was that Shikamaru wasn't sure that it _would_ be. Not yet. He was still waiting for the final piece to make its way across the board, _if_ it would make its way across the board, and that piece was running out of time. If that piece stayed where it was...their job was going to be a whole lot more difficult. Not necessarily impossible, but a _lot_ more difficult.

He eventually shooed Sakura on her way and made his way back to his bedroom. A Nara knew the value of sleep, and if he went into this battle sleep-deprived, it would only be a detriment to everyone who counted on him.

(It was a strange feeling, being counted on. Troublesome. There was a part of Shikamaru that still wanted to throw in the towel and just sleep his way through the following day, not deal with this at all...but perhaps his mind had finally realized that sometimes, it was more troublesome to ignore a problem than to deal with it in the long run.)

He let his eyes close and tried to push his worries to the back of his mind. Sleep, he insisted to himself, it was time to _sleep_.

Shikamaru had drifted off for all of five minutes when there was a knock at his door. He groaned, and in response he heard his mother's voice answer him.

"Someone at the door for you, Shikamaru. Someone important."

Important?

Shikamaru bolted upright. This was it, it _had_ to be. The missing piece. The piece he'd been waiting for.

He practically sprinted to the front door, startling his mother as he passed. He threw it open with uncharacteristic enthusiasm, and he couldn't help but grin as he saw who was waiting for him.

"Just the person I was hoping to see."

* * *

"You are certain that this is everything that Sakura Haruno has learned of our organization?"

"Yes, Nagato."

It was always odd, talking to one of Nagato's puppets instead of his true body. Nagato at least had remembered enough tact _not_ to send her Yahiko's body, but rather another body that she had not been familiar with in its lifetime. It still didn't make it easy. None of what she did for Nagato was ever easy.

"What do you think of her plans?"

"Eliminating Danzo?" Nagato answered, looking apathetic at the thought. "If she succeeds or fails, it does not matter. Once the Bijuu are under are control, Danzo will not stand a chance against us regardless, and neither will she."

"But Nagato, this might be our _chance_." Konan insisted. "We can get vengeance _now_, and we'll put ourselves in Sakura's good graces. She won't have any reason to suspect us if we help her, and that _scum_ will be-"

"No, Konan. That is final."

Konan had to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out immediately. She still trusted Nagato to some extent, but this? To let the one who'd led Yahiko to his death go unpunished when the means were right in front of them? She wasn't sure what Nagato was _thinking_.

"We won't even be ready for the Bijuu for at least another year."

"And I cannot afford to lose you to him too."

That statement hit home. It was a small spark of humanity, proof that _something_ was left in Nagato that cared for her still, but even then Konan was not sure it was enough. Nagato had grown so detached from the world in his plans for revenge that she was half convinced he actually _thought_ himself a god.

"You wouldn't." She protested. "I won't be alone."

"No, Konan. Come home. That is an order."

For a moment, she thought of defying him further. Nagato wouldn't kill her if she disobeyed, but...he could disable her. Bring her home himself. Maybe he didn't approve of her actions, but if she continued to speak up now...there was no chance of convincing him otherwise.

So she dropped it.

"I hear your order." Konan replied, choosing her words carefully. Thankfully, Nagato did not press the issue further. His puppet leapt away into the night, no doubt slipping through Konoha's defenses with ease. She waited for a moment until she was certain that his presence had faded.

It would take about a week to return to Ame from Konoha. That was a week she had before Nagato would grow suspicious. And if her understanding of the situation was correct, she likely only needed to delay her return by a day to do what was _right_.

She left her room in a huff, heading straight for the next one where her genin were preparing to turn in for the night.

"Prepare yourselves for battle." Konan told them.

"Battle?" Urin replied. "I had thought we had been disqualified from the chuunin exams?"

"It is a different kind of battle that awaits us. Be ready." Konan replied. She looked to her three students. Each were confused, but took to her orders quickly. The Angel had willed this, after all, and they would never question her will.

Tomorrow, Yahiko's spirit would finally be able to rest.

Tomorrow, she had no doubt she would see Danzo dead.

* * *

"You know, Leader will be pretty cross if he finds you've detoured us all the way back to Konoha, Itachi."

"What the Leader does not know will not affect his demeanor towards us."

Konoha had darkened as the sun set, and the low rumble of its citizens had quieted with the coming of the night. This quiet was one Itachi was quite familiar with. In his time as Anbu, he had operated under cover of night almost exclusively. It was through this experience that he was able to pinpoint the areas where he and Kisame would not be disturbed. He had only intended to be here for a day, but what he had learned in his infiltration had intrigued him enough to make him wait.

The Hyuuga were up in arms; they had caught word that a part of Konoha had gotten access to certain clan secrets. It was Root, of course, it had to be. There was rumor about that the Hyuuga would be bringing the city council to trial over this scandal, and if that was the case...how would Danzo be able to work his way out of _that_?

And then there was the matter of Sakura Haruno...the girl who had _somehow_ broken through his Tsukuyomi. (Which _shouldn't_ have been possible, though perhaps his clan tablet held a clue that he had missed before.) The one who had caused the Hyuuga to _make_ such an accusation against Konoha was one of Sakura's companions...and a former member of Root, as it turned out.

He'd slipped, in his time with Sakura. Mention of Root had come to light. He'd been so caught off guard by the news of his brother that he hadn't _thought_. And now...it seemed as though Sakura might have taken that knowledge and ran with it.

There was no point in confronting Danzo and potentially compromising his position if a girl was willing to do it for him. So Itachi would wait. He would see how the next events unfolded, and if it wasn't to his liking...he would speak with Danzo himself.

Danzo and Hiruzen had promised, after all. They had promised to keep Sasuke safe within the village.

And Itachi would see _why_ that promise had not been kept.


	58. Chapter 58

Shikamaru had told her, at the beginning of their correspondence, that the key to success when it came to political warfare was misdirection.

There were three ways of achieving this misdirection. The first way was to convince your opponent that you had different goals to achieve than what you were actually trying to accomplish. This misdirection was the easiest to achieve, but harder to keep up for long. A smart player would be able to piece together that certain actions you had taken did not align with the fake goals you had presented. Still, it was standard to begin with this type of misdirection, as the longer you could keep your opponent from understanding your true motives, the more time you had to set up your for your _real _goal.

The second way of achieving misdirection was to mislead your opponent about your own capabilities. If they knew your goal and _believed_ that they knew how you intended to go about reaching it, that gave you room to manipulate your more secret pieces on the board. This misdirection could be accomplished in several ways, ranging from keeping your assets completely secretly to _choosing_ which assets to allow your opponent to see, in order to make your opponent create assumptions about how you intended on using them. This was also fairly standard in political warfare. Nobody ever showed their whole hand until they believed it was time for the coup de grâce, lest their hand be used against them. It was thus wise to understand that you would never be able to fully predict what your opponent would be capable of until the last, but at the same time one should never assume that the opponent did not know everything about you. Though assumptive thinking was necessary for political warfare, it was also detrimental to it. One had to find a balance between what they knew to be true and what they could assume to be true.

The third form of misdirection was the most difficult to accomplish, but in the end the most rewarding, and that was to mislead your opponent about their _own_ capabilities. A true master of the art would be aiming to achieve this third form at every opportunity.

So what did it mean when two masters of strategy came head to head, each skilled in the three arts of misdirection?

Shikamaru said that most masters of the art would say that the key to victory at that point was simply a matter of who had more time to prepare, if both opponents were of equal skill and intelligence. Time led to victory, and though they'd had weeks to prepare, Danzo had been fighting these sorts of wars for nearly a lifetime. By the standards of most tacticians, Shikamaru would be incapable of defeating Danzo without years of preparation.

Shikamaru, however, told Sakura that most of these so-called 'masters' were idiots.

A _true_ master of misdirection knew that there was a factor to strategy that was always overlooked. A fourth form of misdirection, though not one that could be controlled by either party.

That factor was human nature.

There was a reason, Shikamaru told her, why the Nara and Yamanaka clan had always worked well together. It was perhaps the only time Sakura had ever seen Shikamaru express pride in his clan.

No two clans, Shikamaru insisted, understood human nature better.

And that was where Danzo would fail.

* * *

There were eight Kage in the room where the final war was to be waged, five of whom Sakura could trust not to betray her.

There were three Konoha council in the room, Danzo included, none of whom Sakura could trust not to betray her. There were also four Suna council and two Iwa council, the latter of which Sakura could trust and the former definitely not so.

Each Kage had two jounin level guards accompanying them, and all the members of each council had a contingent of Anbu, all of whom Sakura could assume to be Root shinobi. Tsunade had also had the wisdom to insist upon Naruto's presence in order to 'record formal affairs', and while Sakura knew Naruto's written skills were less than desirable, most of the foreigners did not and tolerated his presence easily. There were very few people in the room who were aware of Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki, and that would work to their advantage if the worst happened.

Still, when Sakura tallied up the numbers in her head, including herself and her two boys, the division between 'trust' and 'not trust' was scarily even. The only consolation that Sakura had was that she was counting on calling in 'witnesses' who might help tip the scale in their favor, but even then...Danzo had come prepared.

He had probably seen through the first of their misdirections, which was fine. This coming meeting was not meant to sway _his_ heart one way or another. Sakura knew where the man stood.

This meeting was essentially the last chance to sway three villages away from a potential war. If she failed here, things would remain hopelessly even.

Thankfully, it would not be Sakura starting things off. Shikamaru had planned this well. Once everyone had settled into their seats, it was Tsunade who began the meeting.

"As I'm sure everyone here is aware, the chuunin exams have been..._enlightening_ for all of us." Tsunade started. Sakura was impressed to see that she was holding...well, not a poker face, but a very calculated expression that was somewhere in the scale between genuine concern and vicious anger. "But what may _not_ be aware to everyone here is the scale of the actions that have occurred around us. I have recently been given reason to believe that the village of Sunagakure has not only willfully endangered both the citizens of my village _and_ the lives of the shinobi who are visiting here for the exams, but also attempted to shuffle blame onto my own village in an attempt to turn certain parties against us. This is why this meeting has been called."

"Seems like a matter to be settled between Leaf and Sand." Ogano, the River Kage, was naturally first to speak up. "I don't see why you had to drag all of us here for this petty affair."

"It's not petty if the wrong assumptions could lead to a war, and a war could affect all of you whether you're in it or not." Tsunade retorted, already having shifted into her zone of 'taking no shit'. "I called _all_ of you here today because I wanted neutral witnesses to the affair. Those who have signed the neutrality pact are here in case it _does_ turn badly because, due to the pact they signed, they will be shouldering the battle alongside us. However, because of this, they are not neutral. I am looking to Ame, Kusa, and Tani today in the hopes that its Kage will serve as impartial judges in this 'petty affair'."

"I can judge it now. It's petty and _not_ worth our ti-"

"Quiet."

Sakura was surprised to see Konan speak up, and even more so to see Ogano listen to her. "Quiet now." Konan repeated. "You want to hear about this as much as the rest of us do. If I have to hear more of your whining, I might just start a war myself."

Sakura repressed a laugh. It was strange, almost like Konan had taken on a completely new persona. Where before she had been reserved, holding herself back, now she seemed actively invested. Perhaps she'd decided to be a more active participant in the 'affair' after all...not that Sakura would complain. Ogano kept quiet from then on, and Tsunade looked grateful for the opportunity to continue.

"Naturally I would not call such a meeting without adequate proof of my claims. I will turn things over to Sakura Haruno, who will both present the evidence and act as witness to the events that occurred."

Sakura nodded and forced herself to stand. She'd spent a good part of the night going over her various speeches in her head. She couldn't afford to stammer or slip up now. Her eyes glanced over to the Suna shinobi. Temari was strangely avoiding her gaze, but the Suna council seemed impassive, unreadable. They were older shinobi, likely well practiced playing this sort of game, and _they_ would be her opponents for the moment.

"Esteemed Kage and honored council, it is no secret to the people here that Suna's relationship with my group is currently very tense." Sakura began. They had decided it was better to start off speaking frankly. Beating around the bush of the matter would only make it more difficult down the line. "My companion, Gaara, was formerly of Suna, and not only that, holds the Bijuu Shukaku, whom until Gaara's defection was considered a Suna asset. Suna has made it very clear that they desire their Jinchuuriki back, and Gaara has made it clear in turn that he has no intention of returning to them. I believe it is due to this conflict that the events I am about to account occurred, or at least partly due to it. In that regard, Suna's actions were understandable, and within the parameters of the chuunin exams, technically legal. The crux of this matter does not lie with the events themselves being _allowed_ in the exams, but rather the potential ramifications that these events _could_ have incurred, as well as the implications of what these events mean for the relationship between Konoha and Suna."

Sakura heard no objections yet, and she allowed herself to take a couple breaths. Her speech was a bit of a mouthful, she had to admit, but she could tell she had the rapt attention of everyone involved. She couldn't help but quickly glance towards Danzo, who was the most stone-faced of everyone in the room. He was piecing it together, she realized, or perhaps he had already pieced together where this conversation would go, but he absolutely could not afford to show it or take action yet.

_Right where we want him_, Sakura reminded herself. _Which is unfortunately closer than I'd like him to be._

"The events that occurred are as follows, and can be corroborated by both my companions _and_ by the trio of genin that Lady Konan brought to participate in the chuunin exams." Sakura continued. Konan did not protest, which was a small relief to her; she hadn't known if the Kage would be willing to allow her genin to testify if the need required it. "On the first evening of the second phase of the exam, my team was attacked by a contingent of four teams of shinobi, all of whom were wearing _Konoha_ headbands. This fact is the first, and perhaps most important, but I will return to it later. While one of these teams was taken out by our preparatory trap-work, nine still made their way to us and engaged us in direct combat. Six of those nine focused on keeping Sai and myself occupied. Three of them went to Gaara, and they did so with a mission."

With that, Sai stepped forward, presenting three large scrolls to Sakura. She placed the three scrolls onto the middle table that stretched across the room, unfolding each of them for the group to see. "These are scrolls that were recovered from the three shinobi that attacked Gaara. As you can see by the detailed seal-work on their pages, these scrolls are mediums for very powerful sealing jutsu. Jutsu that Gaara has testified are Suna-made, and intended to remove Shukaku from his host and place it into another vessel. The three shinobi that focused on Gaara activated these seals and attempted to pull Shukaku from Gaara and seal him within this tea kettle here." Sakura waited for Sai to present the kettle as well, somewhat roughed up from its time in the woods, but undeniably a kettle of Suna origin. "This action was desperate and dangerous." Sakura concluded. "Once the unsealing began, there was no contingency plan in place for what to do if one of the three sealers was taken out, or one of the scrolls was removed from the equation. If the trio had failed to seal Shukaku within the kettle, Shukaku instead would have escaped his host and been allowed to rampage freely within the Konoha forests, endangering the lives of the exam participants and possibly even those residing within Konoha itself. To be blunt, if not for the actions of Sai, that would have _been_ what happened. Thankfully, Sai was able to construct a new seal over the broken old one, and Shukaku is still safely contained. However, it cannot be stressed enough the danger these actions threatened to cause. If Sai hadn't been able to reseal Shukaku, who knows what would have happened to _all_ of your shinobi, and yourselves included."

This was, of course, something that Danzo had likely accounted for. Shukaku breaking free would have been the perfect cover for his little civil war to begin. Sakura glanced his way again; still stone-faced, of course.

"Finally, I will return to the matter of the Konoha headbands. The sealing of Shukaku and the mechanisms behind it have been a Suna secret for generations. How was it that Konoha shinobi came to have access to Suna sealwork? At first I wondered if Konoha was secretly moving against me. However, I came to realize that there was a second option. In the event of the survival of my team, Suna sending shinobi wearing falsified Konoha headbands would have been an excellent way to turn my group against Konoha, which in turn might have begun the process of tearing my peace pact apart. If I was forced into an altercation with Konoha, I could lose their support, and in turn lose the support of others. So, here we have two options. Either Konoha has somehow stolen Suna sealwork to use against me, or Suna used their own sealwork in an attempt to reclaim their lost Bijuu and used Konoha headbands as a contingency plan in case of my own survival."

It was not the only option, of course, and Sakura knew it. The truth was slightly more complicated than either of those. But they had a game to play, and the game had to start right. Sakura turned to face Temari and the Suna council, doing her best to calm her nerves and appear collected.

"I ask the representatives of Sunagakure now: how do you plead to my accusations?"

There was a heavy silence over the group as all eyes turned towards Temari. Temari stood, facing Sakura and finally looking her straight in the eyes. When she spoke, it caused everyone in the room to stammer in shock.

"We plead guilty to these accusations."

It was clear that Temari's response was _not_ what the Suna council had expected. One of them stood up, an older woman who took Temari by the arm and hissed something into her ear. Temari stood firm, however, and continued to speak despite the chaos around her.

"We plead guilty." Temari continued. "The Suna council will not agree with my decision to speak up, but _I_ am the Kazekage and I will not be silenced." She looked back towards the woman, who in turn glared at her in a manner that exuded 'death and poison'. "I have stayed silent until now because I thought I was doing what was right for my village. But...I have realized now that what my council believes is right for my village may not truly be what is _right_. If Suna has to rely on the strength of a Jinchuuriki to be strong, then we are not _truly_ strong. Are we not currently surrounded by several villages who have come into their own strength without a Bijuu to their name?" Temari took the moment to gesture to several of the Kage around her, and Sakura noted a small look of approval pass over the Grass Kage's face as she did so. "Suna believed itself to be weakened without Gaara's presence, and for a time I, too, was convinced of this. I was bitter at Gaara's leaving. I was angry towards Sakura for luring a village asset away. But...Sakura said it herself. Gaara left of his own accord. If Sakura had never arrived at our village, Gaara might have simply found another avenue to leave the village behind. We have...we have mistreated him. We have neglected to view him as a human being, instead of a weapon. It was not Sakura who pulled our Jinchuuriki away, it was _us_ that pushed him. I may have failed him before as a sister, but I will not fail him now as Kazekage." She turned to look at Gaara then, as determined as she had ever been. "Suna pleads guilty to Sakura's accusations. My council here provided Konoha shinobi with the scrolls needed to reseal Shukaku within his tea kettle, in the hopes that we might be able to forge a new Jinchuuriki. In doing so, we endangered Konoha and its people, as well as threatened Gaara's life."

Sakura was bewildered. What had changed from the last time they had gathered here? Shikamaru had mentioned something about a 'final piece' needed to pull their plan together. Had it been Temari the whole time? He _had_ been guarding her during the exams...likely speaking with her...maybe dropping subtle hints to sway her towards seeing things differently…

Shikamaru was a clever bastard. Scary, but clever.

"We appreciate your honesty, Lady Temari." Sakura answered, giving Temari a short bow. "But your testimony here brings up a rather interesting question. You said that you gave the scroll to Konoha shinobi to use, and yet Lady Tsunade here claims that she did not authorize her shinobi to attack Gaara in such a manner. We have a contradiction here."

"There is no contradiction. Merely a false assumption." Temari continued. Yes, this was _perfect_, Sakura could see exactly where she was going with this now. In fact, it couldn't go _better_. If Temari was speaking against Root, did that mean Suna was on their side? Though looking at the reactions of the council, Sakura wasn't quite sure yet. Temari was young, a new Kage. Suna's soldiers would likely defer to the council in matters of war. Still, Temari was proving a valuable 'piece' indeed.

"And what is this false assumption, Lady Temari?"

"Tsunade was not in charge of the Konoha shinobi that we worked with. Rather, these shinobi were working under the direction of a different Konoha leader."

"And who would this leader be?"

"He is here in this chamber as we speak. The man is Danzo Shimura, one of Konoha's own council."

The attention of the chamber turned to Danzo, who was still fairly calm despite the accusation. When he did not speak, Sakura took charge.

"Councilman Danzo, these are very interesting charges being brought against. If the Kazekage is correct, I am to believe that you, behind the back of the Hokage, worked to actively attack and undermine myself and my companions, in a manner that threatened the safety of the village that you claim to serve. How do you plead to these claims?"

Danzo gave a small sort of shrug with his good shoulder, smiling pleasantly as he answered. "Naturally I plead not guilty. These charges are ridiculous. I would never act in such a way without the Hokage's authority. Suna is attempting to divert blame from itself in order to avoid retribution."

_Yeah, of course you'd say that, you bastard._ Sakura thought to herself, clenching her fist briefly to redirect her anger. What she said next here would determine how this meeting would be focused. She had to choose her words very carefully.

"You claim these charges are unfounded, then?" Sakura spoke aloud. "That the Kazekage is either lying or has somehow mistaken the situation?"

"That is correct."

"I find that interesting." Sakura continued. "Especially considering recent information about the shinobi that attacked my team in the woods. Lady Tsunade, might you please enlighten Danzo as to what I am referring?"

"Gladly." Tsunade answered. "When Sakura brought these accusations to me, I investigated the claims myself. I first had a squad of Anbu go to the woods to try and retrieve the bodies of the shinobi that attacked Sakura's group. However, upon arriving at the destination, there were no bodies to be found. I found that particularly curious. There were bodies of other shinobi within the woods, yet to be retrieved, and even though nature had started to have its way with them, they still left traces of their presence. Tools, headbands, even _bones_. Yet, the area that Sakura was attacked in was somehow completely clean. I figured it could be a coincidence. Maybe a large predator had made off with them. So I instead made my way to the roster of those who had registered for the chuunin exams and used that to deduce which shinobi it could have been. I could cross off the surviving shinobi, of course, and a quick scan of the woods and the bodies that _had_ been left behind helped me narrow the list down further. I eventually _was_ able to find twelve Konoha shinobi that were unaccounted for, and funnily enough, the names of each of those shinobi didn't correspond to the names of any _registered_ shinobi under Konoha. However, all of the participating shinobi were required to provide picture identification upon registration for the exams, and I was able to cross-reference those pictures to find out who these shinobi actually were." With that, Tsunade pulled forward a massive folder from under the table, opening it for all to see. There were pictures within, as well as detailed files. "These shinobi are registered under _your_ Root division, Danzo." Tsunade concluded. "They may not have names, but there's no mistaking those faces. The shinobi that attacked Sakura were from _your_ group."

"Perhaps they were." Danzo agreed. "But you have no proof they were acting on _my_ orders. They could have gone rogue and acted of their own accord. I certainly had nothing to do with the attack."

"Don't you _pride_ yourself on Root's obedience?" Tsunade demanded. "Or am I mistaken in your ability to _handle_ your shinobi?"

"I will admit that in this particular scenario, my faith in their obedience was misplaced."

"Then _maybe_ we need to talk about your capability to _lead_-"

"Lady Tsunade, Councilman, if you'd please." Sakura stepped forward, not wanting Tsunade to get too heated. This had only just begun, and she didn't need the Hokage's hotheadedness to get in the way of their plan. "Councilman Danzo, your current plea is that you did not authorize the actions of the shinobi that attacked my group, is that correct?"

"_Yes_, that is correct."

"I just wanted to confirm this, for everyone to hear." Sakura replied. "As it stands right now, our current understanding of the situation is that a rogue group of Konoha operatives, previously under Danzo's command in the Root division, collaborated with Suna in order to reseal Shukaku and kill Sai and myself. Councilman, can you give us any possible explanation as to why these shinobi would act in such a manner?"

"As of right now, I cannot."

"Lady Temari, do you have any input?"

She saw the Suna councilwoman hiss some sort of threat into Temari's ear, but to her credit, Temari stood firm. "I do. As of right now Danzo claims he has nothing to do with the actions of these shinobi, and that claim is false. Danzo has been corresponding with my council and I regularly since before our arrival to the exams, and met with us in person to discuss Shukaku's resealing."

"Easily explained." Danzo spoke up. "A henge jutsu can be performed by even the most inadequate of shinobi, and written correspondences can be done by anyone. These rogue shinobi likely posed as myself in an attempt to create dissent exactly as has been done now, in the event of their failure."

"I see. As it stands, Lady Temari, Danzo is correct." Sakura noted. "As shinobi, it is easy enough to conceal ourselves as someone else. I am sure your people know firsthand how easy it is to impersonate even a Kage."

Temari wasn't pleased by the answer, of course, but Sakura noticed a palpable relief settle over the Suna council. This _almost_ caused her to smirk. Oh, if they thought they were in the clear now, they had a real storm coming.

"Naturally, if this was a one-off incident of rebellious shinobi, I would insist that the matter be dropped here." Sakura continued. "The offending shinobi have been dealt with, and perhaps Konoha would need to run an internal investigation, but that is a matter for Konoha alone. However...I cannot in good conscience claim that this _was_ a one-off incident. Not when there is a plethora of evidence to the contrary."

The room was quiet, and Sakura realized she was almost _waiting_ for Danzo to make a retort. When he did not, she decided to take her chance. This was it, right here. This was how things would start to tie together.

"Lady Tsunade, before I continue, I must confirm a few things with you. As of a few months ago when this peace treaty was first drafted, can you confirm that, through Kakashi Hatake as your chosen proxy, you signed Konoha into the treaty?"

"I can confirm this." Tsunade answered.

"Because of this, can you confirm that any harmful action taken against myself or any of my other fellow ambassadors by shinobi under Konoha jurisdiction falls under mine or my fellows right's to investigate, as per the fifth tenet of the pact?"

"...kid, you're going to have to remind us all what the fifth tenet is."

"R-right." Sakura chuckled, pulling out the pact and opening it to read it aloud. "The general statement of the fifth tenet is this: It is prohibited to harm an ambassador of the pact in any way. Any person under the pact suspected guilty of this will be subject to a trial of both village peers and ambassadors. Would you agree that, from the moment of Kakashi's proxy signing up until this moment in time, any Konoha shinobi that has aimed to harm an ambassador falls under _my_ jurisdiction to call investigation upon?"

"I would agree, yes."

"It is a thick document, but if you recall, each tenet of the pact has addendums and expansions in subsequent sections, and for this particular tenet there is an expansion that addresses what I believe to be the situation at hand. While the general statement of the tenet is that it is prohibited to directly harm an ambassador, it is also prohibited to willfully and purposely direct _others_ to harm an ambassador. This addendum to the tenet was necessary, otherwise anyone could simply hire an assassin to kill ambassadors they didn't like, and would be immune to the consequences. Following this line of thought, not only do I have the right to demand investigation of any Konoha shinobi that actively try to do me harm, but I also maintain the right to demand investigation of any Konoha shinobi that have directed _others_ to do me harm."

"You're too damn wordy, girl, by the Sage _get_ to the point." Ogano commented dryly. "I think we all see where you're trying to weasel this."

"I certainly hope so." Sakura retorted. "Though I am unable to call investigation towards any action taken towards me during the chuunin exams, I _am_ able to call investigation upon two attacks that happened during our time in Waterfall country. The first attack, prior to our meeting with the Taki shinobi, occurred against my companion Gaara, and was witnessed by our escort at the time, Kakashi Hatake. The second attack, after we had begun negotiations with Taki, occurred against Sai. Both times the attackers were shinobi of Konoha, specifically Root, confirmed by Sai and Kakashi, both of whom were once active members of Danzo's organization. This information, coupled with Konoha's signing of my contract, more than granted me the right to begin investigation into Root at the time, and the further attempt to work with Suna against us that we have just discussed merely confirms my actions." Sakura turned to face Danzo then, and this time her determination did not have to be faked. This was where it began. This was where she'd drag Root into the light, whether Danzo wanted it or not. "Danzo Shimura, by the power given to me as an ambassador to the neutrality pact, of which your village is a part, I charge you with willfully directing harm towards two of my fellow ambassadors. In light of evidence that I shall shortly reveal, I _also_ charge you with willingly attempting to undermine the authority of your Hokage and incite internal rebellion against the Hokage's authority. Furthermore, I charge you with foreign collaboration, working with foreign leaders in an attempt to take over Konoha leadership. Finally, there are further charges...but I will allow those charges to speak for themselves once sufficient evidence has been presented. Under the tenets of the pact, you have the right to a trial judged by both Konoha peers and ambassadors...all of which are conveniently in this room as we speak. As for the other Kage that are currently present, I believe it would benefit all to see the mechanisms of the neutrality pact in action. It would also do you well to see the competence of my investigative skills in action. However, I will allow a minute of time for anyone who does not wish to be witness to this trial to leave now."

Sakura could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Naturally, there had not been any outbursts from Danzo at the accusations. He couldn't afford to seem anything but calm in this kind of situation. Ogano, however, suddenly laughed after the silence had settled.

"Those are some very _serious_ accusations. Foreign collaboration? Internal rebellion? I take back what I said about you, girl. You might still be a pipsqueak, but you definitely have some _guts_. I think I'll watch your little trial. It'll be amusing at the very least."

The other Kage sounded off as well, each expressing a desire to see the trial to the end. This was good. Sakura knew Danzo's allies would no doubt want to stay to see if their alliance had been worthwhile, but she had been partially worried about scaring off her _own_ allies. Nobody had left, however, which meant…

She could proceed.

Sakura took another deep breath. Thankfully, now was the time that she could technically 'call for help'.

"At the time I decided to start investigating Root's activities against my people, I knew I would need assistance from Konoha itself in order to shed light on the truth. I admittedly did not turn to the Hokage at the time, partly because I was not sure how far Root's influence extended. For all I knew, the investigation would include looking into the Hokage's motivations as well. I instead turned to a shinobi that I knew would be more than capable of helping me investigate fully. He is a trusted Konoha chuunin from a prestigious clan, and his intelligence has been proven to be in the highest percentile time and time again. He has plenty of connections within the village, and it was with his help that I was able to put together the evidence that will be presented to you today. Lady Tsunade, if you please, I would like to call forth Shikamaru Nara as both a witness and a presenter to my investigation."

"Granted." Tsunade answered. With a wave of her hand, she shooed away one of the Anbu guarding the door. For a tense five minutes, the room was silent. The uncertainty in the room was palpable, and Sakura could _feel_ that all eyes in the room were on her. It was a substantial relief when Shikamaru was finally brought in. He came bearing a large sealing scroll, hopefully packed full of the evidence they'd worked so hard to gather. For the next stretch of time, the trial was going to be in Shikamaru's hands.

"Right. I'm Shikamaru Nara." Shikamaru addressed the room in his typically apathetic fashion, and Sakura had to resist the urge to tell him to put on a more professional face. "I've been working with Sakura to investigate Root. I think things will be easier if I put together a timeline for all of you. Easier to start at the beginning."

As he talked, he began to unroll his scroll, pulling out various documents as necessary.

"Root was founded by Danzo Shimura after the end of the First Shinobi World War. It is not in any official history books, so I'm taking my understanding of its history from what has been dictated to me by various former members. At first, it simply consisted of shinobi that Danzo deemed capable of serving Root's ends, and at that point in time, Root existed as a means to be 'the unseen support of Konoha'. Root performed deeds considered unpalatable to most, though always for Konoha's benefit. I'm sure every village here has a similar group. Even the Anbu can fall along those lines. However, there are some points in history that produced some troublesome rumors.

"The first bit comes from the Second Shinobi War. It's a bit fuzzy to how the war started, a lot of pointing fingers, so I am _not_ going to delve into the politics of that today. But what I _will_ dive into is the effects of Root on two countries specifically. It is possible that Root acted elsewhere, but as I don't have testimony outside of those countries, I'll stick with what I have.

"The beginning of the troublesome rumors comes from Iwa. Lord Tsuchikage, I believe it was you that first brought it to Sakura's attention that you believed Root had stolen shinobi from your village in the past. At the time, you also stated that Root had made various assassination attempts on your life. Is this statement correct?"

"That is correct." Onoki replied solemnly. "Though our theories into the abductions are guesswork at best, we have recovered the bodies of the assassins sent to kill me. Each of them have a very distinct seal on their tongue."

"A seal we have identified as one given to all Root members." Shikamaru finished, pulling out a sheet of paper that detailed the seal. "Sai here can show off the seal to anyone who is curious. These assassination attempts are not strictly out of line. Our countries have been at war twice over, and Root could have reasonably been acting in the best interest of Konoha then. However, the abductions...that's another story. If Root _has_ been abducting Iwa children, that's admittedly a bit concerning. Unfortunately, the Third Hokage is not here to shed light on this scenario, so we must turn to the accused. Danzo, do you have an explanation for these rumors?"

"Lord Tsuchikage said it himself. Guesswork at best. Root has participated in no such abductions."

"So that puts us back to square one. I won't dismiss the rumors just yet, however, but for now we'll focus on a more interesting subplot to the Second War. For this, I'd actually like to have someone else here speak. Someone who was there to witness the events." Shikamaru gestured across the table. "Lady Konan, would you care to describe occurred in Ame yourself, or shall I?"

Konan stood, and _finally_ Sakura saw a sliver of emotion make its way across Danzo's face. Surprise, the man had _definitely_ been surprised by their bringing in Konan. This was _perfect_. If they'd caught him off guard with _this_, that meant they had a high chance of catching him off guard at other turns. It meant they'd found avenues he hadn't actively been trying to cover up.

"When I came here for the exams, it was not originally my intent to speak up. However...Sakura has done well to convince me." Konan began. "I am a war orphan. I lost my family during the Second War and it was only due to the intervention of a Konoha shinobi that me and my companions at the time were able to live and thrive despite the war raging around us. In that, please realize that I owe a small debt to Konoha. I do not speak up against Danzo merely due to my village's prejudice. I speak up because the truth deserves to be heard. My companions and I formed an organization near the close of the Second War. That organization's purpose was to attempt to broker peace between the warring nations and end the conflict that had torn our country apart. Our group grew in size and reputation until at last we were summoned by Hanzo himself, who claimed that he would be willing to work with us to broker that peace that we sought so desperately.

"Our meeting ended in despair. Hanzo turned upon us, slaughtering my people. Only myself and one other of my companions survived. We retreated, broken and defeated. But time passed, and we regained strength.

"It was over a year ago now that our rebellion grew large enough to take Hanzo on. We defeated his elite guard and cornered Hanzo, desperate for answers. We wanted to know why. We _needed_ to know why. Thankfully, my companion is somewhat skilled in the art of interrogation, and we were able to _get_ those answers quite easily. You see, originally, Hanzo _had_ intended to meet with us to discuss peace. However, he was approached by another man. Danzo Shimura.

"Hanzo told us that Danzo presented him with the bodies of his slain clan members, claiming that _our_ group was the one who had slaughtered him, and that, rather than peace, we sought to usurp his rule. Danzo then offered to aid Hanzo with taking our group down, in exchange for Hanzo's assistance in aiding him to becoming Hokage."

"Lies." Danzo spoke up, interrupting Konan. "A very convenient story meant to slander me. And naturally with Hanzo now dead, he cannot confirm your tale."

"Lies, perhaps. But we _can_ confirm one thing about Konan's story." Shikamaru spoke up again. "In fact...we have witnesses to _another_ point in history that can confirm that you, Danzo, were actively trying to take up the mantle of Hokage yourself. If those present consent, I would like to bring in Kakashi Hatake to testify."

There were no objections, though Sakura noticed that one of the women of the Suna council took on an agitated look at the mention of Kakashi's name, and appeared even more so once Kakashi arrived. She knew her sensei had a bit of a history, having fought in the Third Shinobi War, but it was only now that she was seeing the _negative_ side of Kakashi's reputation.

"Kakashi, you have told me before in testimony that you were once active in Root. Is that correct?"

"That is correct." Kakashi answered. "Danzo approached me after the Kyuubi's attack on the Village over a decade ago. At the time I was grieving the loss of the Fourth Hokage. He...had been my sensei, and we had been very close. I had been preventing from assisting in battling the Kyuubi at the time due to my age, and Danzo informed me that it had been the Third Hokage who had insisted on that restriction, which had prevented me from aiding my sensei in battle. I was...angry, then, and became convinced that the Third's leadership was ineffective at preventing death and tragedies. I agreed to work with Danzo to spy on the Third, who had resumed leadership at that point, and even agreed to aid his Root shinobi in assassinating the Third, after which leadership would fall to Danzo. The plan was set to go into motion until Lord Sarutobi discovered me looking through his confidential files, and confided in me some other facts surrounding the Kyuubi attack, which I will _keep_ confidential. Regardless, Lord Sarutobi convinced me that my anger towards him was unfounded, and rather that it was Danzo's manipulations that I should be investigating. I prevented the assassination attempt, and from then on did not associate with Root. Lord Sarutobi forgave the attempt on his life, and Root was allowed to continue with its operations, with a somewhat firm warning."

"Very interesting." Shikamaru commented. "Now we have two separate incidents, two separate testimonies around events in which the witnesses claim Danzo was actively trying to take up the mantle of Hokage. In fact, I would even go so far as to guess that upon the Third's death a year ago, Danzo likely offered himself as a candidate for the position."

"That's...correct." One of the other Konoha councilman added. "Though at the time we agreed that we desired someone younger for the position, who would be able to lead for a longer period of time. Danzo did not put up much argument at the time."

"And with that, we have at least three incidents. One can be written off as lies or a coincidence. Three times? I think we're starting to see a trend." Shikamaru concluded. "Danzo has claimed to be working for the greater good of Konoha, but so far it seems he has been working for his _own_ greater good."

"It is still only hearsay and rumor." Danzo insisted. "You've provided witnesses, but that is not reliable proof. Any one of these shinobi could have been persuaded into speaking against me."

"Right. You want proof. Alright. I think it's time we start digging into that proof, then." Shikamaru agreed. "Let's go back to my first point. Child abduction. That's something that was relatively easy for me to prove, at least within the confines of the village. Sai was actually a fairly good help in narrowing down what to look for. You _have_ been abducting children to groom for use in your Root division. Sai was one of those children. And while I cannot prove that any of your Root operatives are from Iwa or other countries specifically, I _can_ prove that you have been taking children from orphanages and clans. To start, with the help of a Yamanaka interrogator, I was able to get three orphanage matrons to confess to working with 'masked agents' to provide chakra-capable children. The children are taken, and the matrons work to eliminate what little trace there was that the children existed. The children are taken young, usually at the age of five or six. Now, there have been shinobi who have been promoted to genin at a young age, but usually such promotions must be approved by the Hokage. I cannot speak for what the Third approved, but I believe Tsunade here can confirm that she has not approved for the use of child soldiers in Root."

"No." Tsunade answered, and Sakura saw her fist clench _just_ a little bit tighter at the mention. "Of course I have not."

"Furthermore, I have testimony from Shino of the Aburame clan regarding the recruitment of an Aburame member into the Root ranks. Shino claims that at the time he thought little of his cousin's recruitment. However, upon questioning his family recently, he learned that his family believed Torune Aburame to have died in combat. I would hazard a bet that if we looked through the picture files of the current Root operatives, we would find someone who looks suspiciously like Torune Aburame. I wonder, Danzo, did your organization get permission from the Aburame clan to recruit one of its own? How many other clan children have 'died' in battle only to end up in your ranks? And I wouldn't recommend trying to tell me that I'm lying. After all, it's only _just_ recently come up that Root has a _whole_ dossier on every major Konoha clan and their abilities and weaknesses."

Sakura saw Sai's lips twitch into a bit of a smile at the mention.

"The Hyuuga clan has made it more than clear that they have not willingly shared such secrets with Root. I'm sure the other clans will agree. So how is it that Root has come to have access to those secrets? It would make sense if Root has been squirreling away clan children all this time. Who needs the clan's permission when you can learn their abilities with stolen kids?

"Attempted assassination of the Third Hokage. Attempting to align with Ame to take control of Konoha. Stealing clan children to bolster Root...almost seems like you've been building an army behind all our backs. If we add that to the recent accusations of your people working with Suna to undermine the ambassadors here, as well as claims that you've been speaking with various Kage about potential alliances...one has to wonder how loyal to _Konoha_ you really are."

Sakura could hear the various Kage muttering amongst themselves, and she noted that the Kage of Kusa and Tani were looking unusually tense, glancing towards Danzo occasionally. This time she allowed herself a small smile. They _had_ him. They hadn't even dropped their final trump cards and they _had_ him. Danzo couldn't weasel his way around these accusations. Tsunade could see right through him, and so could every other Kage here.

"That already sounds pretty bad as it is. However, Sakura stumped upon another rather interesting rumor that I couldn't help but investigate further, and it turns out that your influence goes even further than any of us had thought." Shikamaru was on a roll now, Sakura had never seen him so enthusiastic. "It's become relatively well known that Sakura recently came into contact with Itachi Uchiha. It was during this contact that Itachi dropped a rather interesting tidbit of information. Apparently he first demanded to know why his brother had left Konoha. Then, he said something fascinating. To quote, Itachi claimed that 'he was supposed to stay with Konoha. _They_ promised. The Root of Konoha.' Which now begs the question of what exactly he meant. As far as the world knows, Itachi went mad and killed his family before leaving Konoha, a missing-nin. Why would Root have been involved with this at all?

"The answer took a bit of digging, and a bit of a jump in thought. But as it turns out, someone in the past was looking out for us, and they left behind crumbs to point us to the truth."

With that, Shikamaru pulled a small stack of papers out of his sealing scroll. The documents they had recovered from the Uchiha compound.

"What I have in my possession here is proof that the Uchiha clan was planning on rebelling against Konoha and taking control by force."

Even Tsunade was shocked by the revelation, and she immediately reached for the documents to scan them over. Danzo was now actively clenching at his seat. Sakura mentally cheered. Maybe they'd had to fight off a weird 'Uchiha ghost' to get it, but this was _truly_ the damning evidence that they'd needed to bring this all together.

"The Uchiha clan was under a lot of suspicion after the Kyuubi attack." Shikamaru began to explain. "So much so that their clan was moved to the outskirts of the village after the attack. Funnily enough, it was _Danzo_ that authorized that force movement, and it was he that was an active voice of suspicion against the clan. Danzo, you claimed at the time that it had to be an Uchiha that caused the Kyuubi to rampage, and you vilified the entire clan as a result. Konoha began to treat the Uchiha quite badly, and eventually the clan had enough. They plotted an uprising. An uprising that you and the Third Hokage eventually learned about...and I am quite certain you learned about it through Itachi Uchiha. Itachi was Anbu at the time, and was known to have worked very closely with the Third. And yet somehow, despite knowing about this uprising, instead of attempting to make peace with the Uchiha clan...Itachi goes 'crazy' and murders the entire clan. I find this a bit suspicious. Itachi acts as though he was acting on orders, but why would the Third have wanted the genocide of one of Konoha's founding clans? We were crippled by the loss. Perhaps if peace was truly impossible it could have been justified, but there's no record of any attempts ever being _made_. I was stuck on this line of thought for a while, until Naruto helped me find the answer."

Naruto grinned automatically at this, and as he did Shikamaru produced a final piece of paper from his scroll. "It took a bit of digging, but thankfully Naruto is pretty good at that, and as the Hokage's assistant he has gotten full access to _all_ of the Hokage's records. So here's the really funny bit, Danzo." Shikamaru slid the paper towards Tsunade, who paled as she looked it over. "Approximately a day after the genocide of the Uchiha clan, the Third made an official decree. This decree _disbanded_ Root. Root was not supposed to be in operation after this date."

"Son of a _bitch_, Danzo!" Tsunade snarled. "You knew I'd never think to look for this!"

Danzo had nothing to say, though Sakura could almost feel the anger radiating from the man. He'd underestimated them. He'd truly underestimated them. Victory was _theirs_, all Shikamaru had to do was deal the final blow.

"There's only one reason why the Hokage would have disbanded Root so immediately after the Uchiha massacre. You went behind his back and had Itachi murder the clan to prevent an uprising, and in return you promised to keep Itachi's little brother safe. You presented it as keeping Konoha from civil war, but a little more digging revealed the actual truth. I worked with Hinata Hyuuga to do a little spying on the Uchiha graves. Tell me, Danzo, do you want to guess how many of active Uchiha shinobi who were slaughtered that day were buried without any eyes? In fact, I have to wonder." Shikamaru pointed towards Danzo, a bit dramatically if Sakura had to admit, but the effect was solid. "If we unwrapped that 'bad eye' of yours right now, would we find a transplanted Sharingan underneath? After all, it had recently been shown that Sharingan transfers were possible. You've seen it work through Kakashi Hatake. Imagine if you had an army of loyal Root operatives, all with Sharingan eyes. That'd be a pretty damn formidable army. Not only that, with Sakura spearheading a peace treaty, I'd imagine it was fairly easy to convince a few foreign leaders that she had ulterior motives. Provide a few future allies with a target, and suddenly you have several armies that can help you overturn Konoha's rule towards yourself. The only thing you had to do was make sure that Sakura and her group were out of the way. If the ambassadors are dead, it becomes harder to keep Plains and Stone and Waterfall in an alliance. They'd likely return to their home countries to consider the future...and then you swoop in with _your_ alliance and take Konoha by force. There was just one little problem that you didn't consider." Shikamaru gestured back towards Sakura with a grin. "This one's a lot harder to kill than you thought. And _that_ one-" Shikamaru turned his gesture towards Sai. "-proved a bit too good at sealing to get Suna their Bijuu back. And finally, you failed to account for the most important thing. Something you've tried to stamp out in your Root agents. Something you've always deemed a weakness. Human emotion. This would have been a whole lot harder to bring together if the Amekage hadn't wanted vengeance for her fallen comrades. And even _more_ difficult if the Kazekage hadn't felt guilty about ordering a death sentence on her little brother."

So Temari _had_ been that final piece. Sakura made sure to shoot the girl a grateful look, though at this point Temari likely missed it. All eyes were on Danzo now, looking to see how he would respond.

"Well?" Shikamaru asked. "Do you have any objections to my statements, Councilman?"

"Only one."

Danzo stood, and Sakura felt the entire room tense at the man's movements. However, Danzo simply kept where he was, somehow looking calmer than he had before.

"You've got a very good head on your shoulders, young Nara. It's a shame that Root couldn't have gotten ahold of you. I hate to see such a promising young mind go to waste."

"You'd have been far too troublesome for me." Shikamaru retorted. "I don't really like working under selfish traitors."

"I suppose so. But there is one thing you've gotten wrong, unfortunately. Something you'll be sad to have missed. I have not created a Sharingan army. That would be too risky, a potential waste of resources. I kept all of the Sharingan for myself."

Sakura saw Danzo's hand move towards his bandaged arm. She felt herself instinctively reach for her own kunai, and saw several others do the same.

"You are correct in that my failure to eliminate Sakura Haruno has put my plans in a bit of a setback. However, you have fortunately provided me with the means to rectify my failures, and perhaps in doing so surpass my original plans. You have led all of your Kage to me, and I am now blessed with an opportunity to try out a Sharingan technique that I have only had the pleasure of experimenting with once before."

Danzo pulled away his bandages, and Sakura briefly saw golden braces over the arm, though with a quick motion of his hand the bracers fell away. As Danzo's arm was revealed, Sakura felt a sensation of nausea as she realized that the arm, which was a strange pale white that looked oddly familiar to her, was covered in _eyes_.

_Dozens_ of _Sharingan_ eyes.

"Shall I introduce you all to Izanami?"


	59. Chapter 59

Nothing happened.

For all the build-up, Sakura had to keep herself from laughing. No red skies bleeding in over her vision, no painful genjutsu, nothing like what Itachi had sent her way. The most terrifying thing about the situation was more the realization that Danzo had just been collecting all those eyes in his _arm_.

"_That's_ supposed to scare us?" She heard Naruto yell out, posturing as the boy _always_ had to. "I've seen cats scarier than _that_, old man!"

Sakura outwardly frowned. Maybe nothing had happened _yet_, but underestimating Danzo was more than a bad move. Still...hearing Naruto taunt him like that _was_ a bit humorous. She'd missed Naruto's relentless optimism in bad situations.

But all optimism faded as she saw a smirk appear on Danzo's face. Something that could make _that_ man smile was almost certainly not good. As he did so, the shinobi at his side suddenly leapt forward into an offensive position, stopped only by Kakashi and the Hokage's guards rushing to meet them. Around her, Sakura saw everyone beginning to mobilize, weapons drawn, hands flying through signs. Even Danzo had begun to move his hands, but Sakura let herself react before he could finish whatever jutsu he was planning, launching herself forward with chakra-enhanced speed. Danzo was quick enough to grab her wrist before her kunai-strike could land, and that strange white arm turned out to be surprisingly stronger than it looked. Sakura felt herself struggling just to pull away.

"One." She heard Danzo say aloud, and for some reason, he _let go_.

Just in time, and perhaps due to it, as Gaara's sand came flying towards him. This forced Danzo to back away, and that was fine with Sakura. If they were pursuing, he was more likely to screw up. She threw her kunai towards Danzo's leg, only barely missing, but with a few hand signs she quickly followed up with water bullets. Danzo dodged left, right, avoiding her bullets, Gaara's sand, even several of Sai's birds that had made their way into the fray. The man was quick on his feet, she'd give him that, but months of Lee's training regiment had made her _faster_. Danzo didn't even have time to get off another jutsu before Sakura was on him again with another kunai, and this time she'd _know_ what was coming. He'd block with that arm, and then she'd _grab_ on and hold him down until Gaara's sand could take hold. Sure enough, he reached out and took hold of her wrist once again, and as Sakura moved in for the grapple, she heard him say something once again.

"Two."

The word confused her, but didn't stop her from grabbing on and holding tightly. Seconds later, Gaara's sand caught up, wrapping its way around Danzo until the man was completely covered. Sakura had seen Gaara used the technique before, and as she pushed herself away she couldn't help but wince as the sand suddenly crushed inwards with frightening pressure.

Sakura saw blood seeping through the sand. Could it have really been that easy?

She wasn't given much time to think. There was a battle raging around her, and several of Danzo's men began to come at her with swords drawn. Gaara's sand helped block some of the blows, but one shinobi pushed through, forcing Sakura to begin to block. She switched between blocking with her kunai and glancing away blows with her arm bracers, until a well-timed ink bird from Sai nailed her opponent in the face and gave her a minute to breathe.

And then Sakura turned around to face the battlefield, and then suddenly Danzo was on the other side of the room again, surrounded by his men, and the Kage around her had only just moved to their feet.

_...what?_

Sakura's body moved for her, and she lunged for Danzo once more, confused and desperate to figure out how Danzo had managed to _escape Gaara's sand_, and exactly as before, Danzo caught her arm and held her at bay.

"Welcome to Izanami." Danzo told her. "This is a jutsu that decides one's fate."

He hadn't _done_ anything yet, Sakura's mind insisted, but he'd somehow gotten free of Gaara's killing blow, somehow manifested on the other side of the room. And then, just like it had before, she felt Gaara's sand rising behind her, rushing to try and trap Danzo once more. Just like before, it missed, and her body was moving again, throwing her kunai, sending out water bullets, just like…

Just like _before_.

Danzo grabbed her arm again, and Sakura reached forward to grab him. Gaara's sand rushed around the man's body, and Sakura pulled away just in time to see the sand crush Danzo's body with a sickening crunch.

Blood. An attack from behind. Blocking an enemy sword with kunai and bracers. Turning around and then…

There was Danzo again, on the other side of the room, his shinobi standing around him.

It clicked for Sakura then. It was _literally_ the same sequence as before.

"Figured it out, have you?" Danzo asked as the shinobi around him moved into the fray once again. "Izanami traps its victims within a loop. All I need to do to activate it is ensure that the same event happens twice. Anchor points for the loop."

Grabbing her arm, Sakura realized. He'd done it twice, both when she'd struck with a kunai, both blocking with that same arm.

Well, didn't that just mean she could break the loop by _not_ letting him grab her arm?

She thrust her hands towards the ground, this time sending an earthen pillar through the floor beneath Danzo. He jumped, and _this_ time Sakura pursued with more pillars, shooting them through the floor one after the other. The man was good at dodging, she had to admit, but it didn't seem like the loop was happening again.

And then the Kusakage was suddenly there, wielding two kama and slicing at her with fervor. It took all of Sakura's concentration just to block the blows, and even then she felt the sting of the kama's blade occasionally nipping at her hands. The blades looked to be enhanced with wind chakra, increasing the range in a way similar to how she'd seen Asuma Sarutobi enhance his own weapons. Gaara's sand wasn't coming to her defense, which meant she was on her own for a bit against a _Kage_, but the fight was too intense to let her dwell on the thought for long. She forced herself to lash out with a punch, trying to throw the man off his rhythm, but as she did so the man dropped his kunai and grabbed at her arm, much like…

_...fuck._

Sakura twisted to free her arm, and as she did so she saw Danzo across the room from her again, surrounded by his men.

"Izanami is a technique meant to decide one's fate." Danzo repeated as the room erupted into battle once more. "So long as you refuse to acknowledge the results of this battle, you will be forever trapped within Izanami's loop. A fitting punishment for one such as you that continues to defy me."

"_Fuck you_!" Sakura cried out before launching forward once more. She pushed herself into the air, this time aiming a kick at Danzo's head. Maybe it was impossible, but if she had to go through this entire fight using nothing but her legs to break this loop, that was what she'd _do_. She pushed her chakra through her legs, summoning earthen pillars with a stomp and lashing out every time she got close enough to hit. She let herself spin, trying to nail Danzo with a rotating kick, but Danzo was suddenly gone, no, _behind_ her. He grabbed at the arm she was using to balance herself, and she saw the man smirk once more before the world shifted and Danzo was across the room from her, surrounded by his men.

"You won't be able to change the outcome of this battle simply by _acting_ differently. This is one of the Sharingan's ultimate genjutsu. None of this is real. The _real_ you is comatose, unable to move or perceive the world around you until this jutsu runs its course. Or until one of my allies kills you."

It wasn't real, of _course_ it wasn't real. Sakura could have hit herself. She'd been so caught up in the battle, but if this was a Sharingan genjutsu, of _course_ it had immobilized her. She wasn't really moving here, she wasn't really using jutsu. All part of the illusion.

She clasped her hands around her necklace, concentrating, willing herself to push her chakra away from her head. She didn't know how to purge it like she had before, but she _did_ know that her amulet had gotten hot, and then…

But nothing happened, and her chakra didn't leave her. The fight raged on around her, and Danzo remained where he was, as calm and arrogant as ever.

"I was worried, I will admit." Danzo explained, suddenly rushing forward in an attempt to strike. Sakura dodged, and now _she_ was on the run as Danzo pursued her. "When I first heard that you'd escaped Itachi's Sharingan, I was skeptical. The Tsukuyomi isn't meant to be broken. I chalked it up to chance, or perhaps a skewed version of the truth."

Sakura ducked as Danzo fired a wind jutsu towards her, but that only gave Danzo an opportunity to grab at her arm once more, and the room returned to the start of the loop.

"I decided to see for myself if it was true after you escaped my trap in the chuunin exams." Danzo continued to speak, once again coming for Sakura. His speech was not interrupted by the battle, and every time the loop restarted, Danzo continued as if nothing had changed.

"I decided that if you were strong enough to escape my trap and reseal a Jinchuuriki, then perhaps you would be more valuable as an ally. I would use one of my most coveted techniques on you."

Danzo paused just long enough to pull back the bandages around his eye, and Sakura saw a Sharingan _there_ as well.

"This belonged to a very powerful Uchiha. He unlocked a technique called the Kotoamatsukami, perhaps the strongest genjutsu I have ever seen wielded in my lifetime. It is so powerful that it cannot be used very often, unless you enhance your body as I have. Using it on a person allows you to enter their mind and give them false experiences, making them seem as though actions you force them to take are being done of their own free will. It's proven a very _helpful_ jutsu in the past. The Suna council and the leaders of Grass and Valley fell under its influence quite easily."

He'd manipulated them into following his plans, Sakura realized. Manipulated them with this strange Sharingan technique. No _wonder_ Suna had gotten the balls to try invading again after the last failure, no _wonder_ it had been so easy to convince them to give a _Bijuu sealing scroll_ over to Danzo's men.

"I had thought to try it on you." Danzo admitted. "So I came to you in your room, attempting to bring you under its sway. I had been hesitant before, with the rumors, but I had no choice then. If I did not bring you under my control, things would no doubt turn ugly. Imagine my surprise when I encountered...resistance."

As the loop started again, Sakura reached up to touch at her amulet. Whatever had saved her from Itachi's jutsu before, had it also saved her then? She hadn't even realized, hadn't felt a thing...of _course_ Danzo wouldn't have just come to talk. He'd come to try and fucking _brainwash_ her, and it was sheer luck he hadn't managed it.

"Whatever power lies in you, Sakura Haruno, is very strong against the Sharingan, it seems. However, it was not strong enough to save you from Izanami. Only your submission to fate will save you now. I will win this fight. I will win the battle for Konoha. You will either join me or die."

"How about _neither_?" Sakura insisted, throwing herself into the fray once more. There had to be something she could do, some way to break the sequence and thus break the genjutsu. If she couldn't release her chakra, if her amulet wouldn't _save_ her, she had to save herself, and if she had to face this sequence again and again until she figured out the trick, that was what she'd do.

And Sakura faced it.

Again and again and _again_.

There was a strange sort of exhaustion threatening to come over her. While her body never tired, her _mind_ was beginning to tire of the exchange. She'd tried ever jutsu she knew, tried going for other opponents, the Kage, the bodyguards, Danzo again, but every time someone grabbed her arm the sequence started over, and Danzo taunted her once more.

"Accept your fate. You will not win this fight."

He said that every time the sequence restarted, like a mantra, over and over again in her mind. Had Danzo only managed to trap herself within the jutsu, or was everyone else in the room _also_ stuck in this loop? She stole a longer glance at Danzo's arm and realized that about ten of the eyes on his arm had closed shut. Enough for herself, her companions, the Kage that opposed him, maybe Naruto and Kakashi and Shikamaru as well...assuming that the illusion was correct.

Konoha was _screwed _if its leader and one of its strongest shinobi had been disabled by Danzo's Sharingan. Not only that, her allied villages wouldn't have leaders to organize them and mobilize them against what would no doubt be a soon to come attack. How much time had passed in the real world since the illusion had begun? Was Konoha already doomed?

She couldn't give up. She had to keep trying to find a way to break the jutsu. She _couldn't_ accept this fate, couldn't just-

Sakura froze.

The answer that came to her was so _simple_, but maybe that was how it was supposed to be. Maybe it was really just as simple as _that_.

Sakura smiled.

"You want me to accept that I will lose this fight." Sakura confirmed. "Okay. I accept it."

She saw Danzo hesitate, and to her right she saw the Kusakage lunging for her again, scythes outstretched. Sakura smiled.

"Just because I lose this fight doesn't mean I lose against _you_. You can have this fight. And when I wake up from this stupid jutsu, _then_ I'll get to win."

She closed her eyes and let the scythes hit her.

She would _lose_ this fight.

Sakura gasped, and suddenly the world rushed in around her. She heard the clashing of metal around her and felt rushes of air as jutsu hit nearby. Her vision was fuzzy at first, bleeding in from the center out. Eventually she processed that there was somehow sand around her, tons and _tons_ of sand. Lying on the ground next to her, she saw a prone Kakashi, Tsunade..._everyone_ she'd theorized to have been hit by Danzo's jutsu, and all of them looked as though they were in a deep slumber.

And yet..._Gaara_ was awake, standing above her and holding a sand barrier around them with fierce determination. Had Danzo somehow _missed_? Why would he have put everyone else under Izanami and not him? Unless Gaara had put together the loophole of the jutsu first…

"**So, you're finally awake?**"

Wait, that _wasn't_ Gaara's voice.

There was something about it that just seemed _wrong_, like Gaara's voice had dropped a few octaves. For a moment, all Sakura could do was stare in confusion. Gaara looked back at her, and she realized there was a familiar glow of chakra around him, liked she'd seen before in the chuunin exams. But Gaara's _eyes_ looked different, like the pupils had somehow changed.

"**The phrase I'm looking for is, 'thank you for saving my worthless, pathetic life, Shukaku'.**"

_That_ snapped Sakura to attention. "S-Shukaku?" She said, bewildered.

"**Don't look so surprised. That idiot of a Sharingan wielder forgot the most important thing about facing my Jinchuuriki: don't fucking put him to sleep.**"

"Even _with_ the new seal?"

"**The seal brat put our chakra in harmony. Doesn't prevent me from being able to slip in if the host takes a nap. Now **_**that**_ **one, on the other hand…**" Gaara, no, _Shukaku_ gestured at Naruto, laying down nearby and just as comatose as the others. "**Whomever did that seal **_**really**_ **wanted to make sure that Fox never came out. It's kind of unfortunate. As much as I hate to admit it, having the Fox wreaking havoc out there could have been useful.**" As he spoke, a shinobi threw himself at the barrier, only to be swatted away by sand. "**It's also too bad that bastard fled the moment he realized I was still awake. The other leaders tried to take out the sleeping ones before they could wake up again but…**" Shukaku grinned, looking equal parts cocky and maniacal. "**There isn't a damn human alive that's going to get through **_**my **_**barrier.**"

Even though seeing Shukaku puppet Gaara's body was a bit unnerving, Sakura couldn't help but grin back. "As weird as this is, I'm glad you're with us."

"**Don't get used to it, brat. I just refuse to let my host die to a goddamn genjutsu. It would be insulting.**"

Sakura wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Having _any_ ally awake was something worthwhile. Beyond the barrier of sand, Sakura could see all of the Kages' bodyguards brawling, some attempting to breach the sand barrier, some attempting to defend it. The enemy Kages, however, were nowhere in sight, and neither was Danzo.

"Shit." Sakura let herself curse aloud. She could attempt to pursue Danzo, but that would mean leaving her entrapped companions behind. She needed to find a way to wake them, but how?

There were two ways to break a Sharingan genjutsu, this much she knew from experience.

One, and perhaps the better method if possible, would be somehow conveying to the person the loophole she used to break through Izanami. The second method would be to try draining their chakra until the enemy chakra was cycled out. That was like what had happened facing Itachi, though Sakura had no idea how she'd done it, but there _were_ ways for people to drain _other_ people's chakra. But that method would likely mean that the awakened person would be unable to defend themselves well, being suddenly devoid of chakra. A double-edged sword.

But Lee made it alright without jutsu. Any shinobi could wield a kunai or a blade. If the second method was what it took, Sakura would have to take it.

However...there was another idea she could try first.

"Shukaku, can you continue to guard them? I'm going to see if I can get help. I might know a way to help wake them up."

"**So long as you do it quick. I don't like moving around in this pathetic body.**"

"Well, if you can reach Gaara, tell him that he needs to accept that he'll lose the battle he's in. He needs to _give up_."

"**...right. That sounds stupid, but I guess that's humanity in a nutshell.**"

It was as good as Sakura was going to get. She prepared to make a run for it, looking about for an opponent before she suddenly saw movement next to her.

Shikamaru was getting up.

She smiled. Of _course_ the neighborhood genius would be able to figure out the loophole too. Sakura instantly made her way to his side, helping him sit up as he came to.

"...that's _it_, I quit being a shinobi. Forever."

"What? You can't quit _now_!" Sakura insisted. "We're literally in the middle of a civil war!"

"Yeah, well, I'm out. Every time I put in an effort to fix something, it goes to the worst possible shit imaginable. This is _such a damn drag_."

He was thinking of Sasuke, Sakura realized, the last major high-ranked mission he'd been on. Shikamaru had been _leading_ that mission, and...it had failed. Of course Shikamaru would be taking this hard. As of right now, things looked...dire.

"Think of it this way. He wouldn't have sprang this on us if you hadn't driven him into the tightest corner he'd ever been in."

"Great. I'll be remembered as the shinobi that _almost_ took Danzo down."

"We still have a chance, Shikamaru. We just need to wake everyone else up and rally everyone together. Danzo can't stand a chance against all of us and he knows it, that's why he risked trying to put us all in that freaky genjutsu."

"Right, and do you really think Naruto 'Never Fucking Gives Up' Uzumaki is going to be able to accept defeat anytime soon?" Shikamaru frowned as he looked over to his sleeping teammate. "Maybe some of the others will put it together after a while, but who knows how long that will be?"

"So help me find someone who _can_ help them figure it out." Sakura countered. "All we need to do is send them a message, right?"

"Right..._oh_."

"We need Yamanakas."

"...but that requires going _out there_."

"Yes, yes it does."

Shikamaru groaned, but he didn't protest as Sakura hauled him to his feet. Two people attempting to find a Yamanaka in this chaos would be better than one, and if she was going to leave the safety of Shukaku's shield, she'd prefer _someone_ at her back.

They waited until there was an opening, and then the two of them ran.

They were pursued, at first, but one of Onoki's bodyguards gave chase and distracted their pursuer long enough for them to get a lead. Unfortunately, the lead didn't help with the _other_ problem: the village was in complete and utter chaos. Shinobi of all sorts were locked in various battles, and Sakura could tell just from a glance that nobody was really certain who was on _what_ side. Sometimes Konoha shinobi assisted and sometimes they turned enemy, and because of that it looked as though nobody was really certain which _village_ they should be fighting either. Kunai, shuriken, and jutsu were being thrown about like candy, and the only consolation Sakura had was that she couldn't see any civilians around in the crossfire. Kakashi had mentioned planning an emergency evacuation if things went south, and she was grateful that _that_ plan, at least, seemed to have held together.

It was Chouji, along with several other Akimichis, that they found first. The Akimichi expansion technique made them rather easy to find, and from there Chouji easily pointed in the direction of his Yamanaka teammate. Ino was fighting back to back with Tenten, applying poisons to the kunoichi's weapons before they were thrown at the enemy's around them. Sakura could also see Hinata's team in the distance, and nearby Lee and Neji were doing their best to keep the heat off of the more stationary fighters.

Perfect.

Not just that Ino was there, but _Shino_ as well. If her first plan failed, Shino's kikaichu could drain an opponent of chakra fairly quickly. If neither of those plans worked, then she was stuck anyway, but if she brought all of the Rookie Nine _and_ Lee's team, she'd be able to at least have a relatively solid team to try and…

Stop a _war_.

She didn't let herself dwell. Her plan hadn't failed yet.

A few shouts and directions later and Sakura was on her way back with eight more shinobi in tow. It was much easier to navigate through a battlefield when you had ten talented shinobi working together, especially with two Byakugan users able to call out when someone was headed their way. Lee had taken off his weights and sped around the group faster than Sakura could even keep track, kicking down enemies before they knew what hit them.

(Sakura _missed_ it, she realized, having her old classmates working together, backing each other up, and she knew it wouldn't be the last time she'd wonder if leaving Konoha had _really_ been the best idea.)

When they arrived back in the council-room, Sakura was surprised to note that the fighting had stopped inside. The enemy had moved on, perhaps having given up with a dedicated Bijuu protecting the sleeping Kage. She wouldn't complain about the break. Sakura dragged Ino to Naruto's side to begin with.

"You were experimenting with trying to communicate with the Kyuubi, right? Do you think you could try to connect with Naruto instead?"

"Maybe?" Ino replied, already looking nervous at the prospect. "But what if I get stuck in that jutsu too?"

"You already know how to break it. You just have to give up and let the jutsu win."

"You're _really_ sure this will work?"

Sakura wasn't, but she certainly wasn't going to make this more difficult for Ino by admitting this. "Ino, are you not the beautiful and talented Yamanaka heir? Are you not the master of minds? The strongest kunoichi of our year?"

It didn't completely encourage Ino, but it was enough to bring a smile to the girl's face. "I'm not going to forget you said that, Billboard-Brow. I do this, I'm the strongest kunoichi of our year, and you _cannot_ take it back."

Ino made a single hand sign, the sign for the Mind-Transfer jutsu, and aimed it at the sleeping Naruto. Sakura caught her as she slumped over, and for an agonizing minute, all she could do was wait.

Then, to Sakura's relief, both Ino and Naruto began to stir at once. It had _worked_.

From there, they moved to each trapped shinobi, and Ino hit them with her jutsu one by one. Each awakened within minutes, and several of them looked sheepish at not having put together the loophole sooner.

It was Onoki that seemed the most pleased with the situation. Though his joints cracked as he stood, he looked more than ready for battle.

"Sakura, my girl, you remember what I told you all those weeks ago? The Uchiha are as fallible as any shinobi, and that includes the power of the Sharingan. Leave it to my student to prove me right."

Sakura felt a small flush of pride at Onoki's compliment. "I didn't do anything special, sensei. Danzo just left one hell of a loophole."

"One we should have figured out sooner." Tsunade admitted with a growl. "When I get my hands on that bastard, I'm going to squish him like a damned grape."

"Get in line, Granny." Naruto was alive with chakra as he stood up, and Sakura recognized that he was channeling a similar aura from his Bijuu that Gaara was now channeling from Shukaku. "The old man's mine."

"To be honest, I feel like there's going to be quite a big line if we all want our way." Shibuki added. "Might I suggest first regaining control of the village?"

"The enemy leaders are under a different genjutsu of Danzo's. If you can...maybe try not to kill them?" Sakura suggested, wincing as she did so. "If we take Danzo down, it might break his hold over them."

"Sakura makes a good point. That puts us at two priorities." Onoki agreed. "My fellow Kage, we should focusing on rallying our shinobi and subduing our enemy."

"The rest of you, find Danzo." Tsunade ordered. "If you feel like you can safely engage, take him down. Kakashi, I'm putting you in charge."

Kakashi lifted his headband up, revealing his Sharingan eye. "That jutsu won't work on us twice. It'll be a different fight this time."

_That_ was something Sakura could agree on. Danzo's trick had been just that...a trick. And now that she was about to have a dozen people on her side, all of whom knew the secret to breaking out of that particular genjutsu, Danzo didn't stand a chance.

She cracked her knuckles as they prepared to move out. No more tricks. No more nonsense.

Danzo was going down _now_.


	60. Chapter 60

((AN: I want to send a thank you to all the lovely reviews I've been getting recently. I do read them all and appreciate the commentary! We're beginning to come close to the end of Act Two of this story, maybe four or five more chapters at most. I plan four acts in total for SBATC. I hope you all continue to enjoy!))

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Kakashi's demeanor shifted the minute they left the building, and Sakura realized she had seen this in him only once before, and that was when Suna and Oto had attacked their village the year prior. This was not just the demeanor of a man being presented with a difficult enemy to fight. This was not even necessarily just a worried demeanor. This was Kakashi's _wartime_ mindset, and in manifested in curt command of the genin around him, as well as a methodical, perhaps brutal dispatch of any shinobi that stood in their way.

She saw a similar shift in both Gaara and Sai, though Sakura wouldn't have necessarily accredited this to wartime experience so much as it was experience with the dirtier side of the shinobi world. They'd both likely been able to make this shift as a child, due to the circumstances under which they were raised.

Sakura wondered, briefly, if she had made this shift herself. The year before, she'd always hesitated when striking blows against enemies. She didn't enjoy the concept of causing pain to others. Didn't enjoy seeing someone devastated at her hands, or even the hands of her comrades. She remembered back when the curse mark had first manifested on Sasuke. He'd fought to defend her and Naruto, fought for vengeance against the people who had brutalized her, and yet, when Sasuke had moved to disable his opponent, she'd stopped him. It had been _vicious_, sure, and she wouldn't have wished what Sasuke had done to the boy on anyone. But in the shinobi world...that sort of treatment was commonplace. If you couldn't kill your enemy, disable them permanently so they can never come at you again. Even now, Sakura found herself somewhat nauseous at the concept.

And yet, here she was, rock morphed around her fists with chakra, and every time she landed a blow on an enemy she could feel the crunch of bone beneath, could hear her foe cry out in pain. This was war, this was necessary for her survival, for her _friends'_ survival, and in the heat of combat she couldn't even bring herself to feel sympathy for her enemies.

They were people too, people who had been misled by Danzo, by others. People with families and lives of their own, people who were simply following orders, doing what they thought was best for the betterment of their country. And she and hers were doing the same.

In this particular scenario, Sakura didn't feel as bad as she likely _could_ have. These people had chosen to attack first, had chosen to agree to fight in a war that could have potentially involved civilians, innocents, unnecessary death, had _chosen_ a war itself knowing the consequences. They thought they were right. _Danzo_ thought he was right. Danzo had started a civil war because he thought Konoha was _weak_ and that _he_ could lead it better. Danzo had ordered the death of the Uchiha because he'd both wanted to obtain the power to 'protect his village' and because he'd believed that an Uchiha uprising would have destroyed Konoha. Everything Danzo had done, he'd done because he'd believed himself righteous.

He was wrong, Sakura insisted to herself. He was _wrong_. But in a world where Danzo had succeeded, he'd be _right_, and _that_ was the thought that scared her.

What in her world was considered right that another would consider abhorrent? If her ambassador group grew in power, they would help _build_ the laws that the shinobi world would consider righteous. But what if she became as delusional as Danzo? What if the world they helped create was as broken as the one that came before?

Sakura didn't have answers, and she couldn't afford to linger on her own thoughts. Maybe that was the true consequence of war. You had enemies and people to protect. You didn't have time to think or question. You didn't have time to consider the world this war would create. If you hesitated, you died, or someone you loved died.

Onoki had been through three wars now. Wars that had lasted far longer than this skirmish would. Sakura couldn't bring herself to imagine what any of them must have been like. Sent into battle each day, too tired to question, too worried to _stop_…

What would such a life have done to the shinobi that survived it? What were the consequences of those shinobi living to lead the villages they helped protect?

Sakura saw the consequences of war now in her teacher, and saw the consequences trickle down to affect her comrades. Sakura knew she did not feel the shift of war as they did, and now she knew for certain that she hoped she never _would_. The shift didn't create soldiers, it created _monsters_. It created people incapable of seeing a life beyond violence. It created people who _thrived_ on violence. It created men like _Danzo_.

It had to stop here. All of this had to stop here. Onoki had been right, but Sakura didn't even think _he_ knew how right he had been. It wasn't just about stopping the shinobi countries from spatting with each other. It was about creating a future where men like Danzo weren't _needed_ anymore. It was about creating a world where war _wasn't an option_.

(And Sakura couldn't help but wonder what consequences _that_ would bring.)

There were fourteen of them in total. Four teams of three with Kakashi at the head, plus Shikamaru. They naturally fell into a rhythm with their teams, which only made sense. Sakura _knew_ Gaara and Sai's fighting styles now, and they had subconsciously tailored themselves to work around each other. She knew how Naruto worked better than most, but not as well as she'd used to; she saw now that Naruto wasn't just surging ahead due to the enthusiasm for battle, but to direct the heat off of Shikamaru and Ino, who worked better from the sidelines. Naruto and Chouji danced around each other in a manner that spoke to months of working as a team, and neither one of them was very far from their other teammates. Shikamaru and Ino immobilized with a combination of shadows and well timed poisons, then Naruto and Chouji finished the enemy off. Sakura knew fully well how well-known the Ino-Shika-Cho families were for teamwork, but Naruto had somehow fit himself right in. Maybe in the future, Uzu would join the infamous lineup.

Team Eight was even more interesting to watch at work. Whereas Team Ten focused more on taking down single opponents efficiently, Eight sought to debilitate large crowds in quick succession. Hinata was the 'eyes', directing her two teammates to pockets of enemy shinobi, and Kiba and Shino would fly forward like arrows. The infamous 'Fang Over Fang' technique would barrel through the crowd, and whomever wasn't knocked out by the sheer force of the blow was immediately swarmed by Shino's kikaichu and disabled. Hinata largely stayed out of combat, but this appeared to be intentional. Whenever either Kiba or Shino were injured, they returned to Hinata's side, where she would await with healing ointments and the protection of the fierce Gentle Fist. She would make a fine medic-nin if her father allowed it, Sakura realized, and even amidst battle Sakura couldn't help but quickly chuckle over the thought of the timid girl apprenticing under Tsunade. Maybe, if they'd survive this, she'd slip Hinata the suggestion.

Team Gai were perhaps the heaviest hitting team of them all. Neji had none of the timidness of his cousin and went for enemy shinobi with a gusto that had to have been cultivated by a couple years under Gai's enthusiasm. If anything, Neji and Lee seemed to be in a race to see who could take down the most opponents on their way to Danzo, and if there was an enemy they happened to miss, they were quickly dispatched by Tenten, who as always hit with terrifying accuracy.

And then there was Kakashi himself, headband pulled up to reveal his single Sharingan, who matched his opponents move for move until he could learn their openings and move in for a decisive strike. The fourteen of them bulldozed through the battlefield in search of Danzo, and even though there seemed to be a disadvantage of numbers against them, they _refused_ to allow themselves to be stopped. Everyone seemed to have a bit at stake. Everyone knew what letting Danzo escape might cost.

Grass and River had seemingly brought their entire shinobi force to the battle, and Suna had certainly brought a majority. That, coupled with a good portion of Konoha's own forces turning against her, meant that they were quite vastly outnumbered. Taki and Ame had each only brought one genin team to participate in the exams, which meant the majority of the defending force consisted of Iwa and loyal Konoha shinobi, as well as a few teams from Plains. If Danzo had succeeded in crippling the Kage, he very likely would have succeeded, but the instant the Kage joined into the frey, the battle changed.

Sakura had never seen Onoki _really_ fight before. He'd demonstrated earth techniques, sure, and she'd sparred against him that one day for Sai's freedom, but watching him now only showed her how _much_ her sensei had held back. Most terrifying to see was Onoki's famed Dust Release. Though the technique took time to prepare, the instant Onoki unleashed it, anyone within the jutsu's range disintegrated into dust within seconds. The man used it sparingly, but even just seeing it for the first time was enough to remind Sakura that the old man was Tsuchikage for a _reason_, even at his age.

And Tsunade...if ever there was a woman deserving of the title of the world's strongest kunoichi, well, Sakura might have _always_ put her forth as a candidate. But seeing her in action just solidified the belief. She'd see the woman take weapon strikes and jutsu blows that would have killed any other shinobi, but Tsunade would shrug them off and _just keep going_. Sakura wondered, in another life, what sort of shinobi she would have become if _she'd_ apprenticed under Tsunade somehow, if Tsunade would have accepted her, _wanted_ her. Would she have been side by side with Naruto instead, killing with monstrous strength and healing her own wounds without a second thought?

But Tsunade wasn't the only female powerhouse on the field. Perhaps the most interesting fighter was Konan, who could somehow summon thousands of paper seals, paper shuriken, paper birds that could fly at her foes...even her own _clones_ were made of paper, and no enemy seemed to be able to land a single hit without realizing they'd been fighting paper birds the entire time. If Tsunade was a bull on the battlefield, Konan was a shrike, expertly moving her enemies about until she could impale them on a flurry of shuriken. At one point, Konan even used her paper to form massive wings that lifted her into the air, and Sakura realized then why Konan was the Angel of Amegakure.

The Kage proved an adequate distraction for the fourteen, as the enemy Kage were drawn towards the heavier fighters in order to protect their own. But Danzo was notably absent on this battlefield, and after scouring the village boundaries, it was clear that Danzo had retreated somewhere to regroup, or perhaps to avoid the dangers of battle. Even Sai noted that some of the more prominent members of Root were missing, no doubt providing protection for their leader.

It didn't take long to deduce where Danzo would have gone. Root had a base, Sai and Kakashi both knew of it, located deep underground beneath the Kage monument. It was expansive, of course. There were hundreds of rooms and tunnels, some of which housed the Root agents, some of which served as training facilities, and others as simple storage areas for knowledge, supplies, even prisoners that were deemed too important for the true Konoha prison above. Sai even knew of rooms whose doors were hidden with seals to prevent anyone but the more higher ranking officers of Root from knowing of them. Normally, Sakura doubted trying to find Danzo in such a base would be possible. However, with two Hyuuga at their disposal, it had to be possible. Most barriers weren't capable of blocking the Byakugan completely, and even if Root had developed such a barrier, they would still be able to narrow down where those rooms were and thus narrow down the search.

Still, it was going to be like running into the lion's den. Not even Sai could predict how the base would be trapped since his departure, and none of them knew precisely how many Root agents would be waiting for them inside. They couldn't afford to pull more shinobi from the outside battle either, not when they were so outnumbered.

It was possible that none of them would leave the base alive. As they reached the entrance to the tunnels, it was only natural that they hesitated to enter. Danzo's Sharingan had immobilized several Kage, and that was on his own. Now Danzo had potentially dozens of Root shinobi at his disposal, and they'd be entering somewhere that he'd had weeks to prepare a defense for since Sai's leaving.

"If anyone has any doubts, now is the time to return to defending the village." Kakashi told them. "You come in here with us, assume you won't be coming out again."

Sakura felt her heart sink downward as Kakashi voiced her fears aloud. Maybe she shouldn't have been afraid. She had her friends with her, twelve other capable shinobi who were at this point far above genin rank. She'd faced down Akatsuki before, faced down the demons of Taki, challenged a Kage and then trained under him...how much more prepared for this sort of mission could she possibly be? Still, Sakura reached up to put a hand on her amulet, looking for something to ground her as she prepared to face the challenge ahead. She felt Gaara reach out to take her other hand in his own, and even Sai deigned to put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's what most of us have been working for." Shikamaru commented. "Seems kind of silly to back down now."

"Speak for yourself, we only just got dragged into this mess." Tenten replied. "But still, we're not going to abandon you guys. I don't think Lee would forgive us."

"Of course we cannot give up now! Sakura has worked hard to uncover this enemy, so to give up now would mean all of that work would be for nothing!"

"Everyone else helped too…" Sakura pointed out. "Shika's right, this is what we've been working for. We're the ones who uncovered all of this, and we're going to be the ones to finish it."

"Damn right!" Naruto agreed. "This bastard is gonna get what's _coming_." There was an underlying growl to Naruto's words, and Sakura could see that the striped marks on the boy's cheeks had darkened and stretched across his skin. Was that the influence of the Kyuubi? She'd seen the effect of Shukaku's aura on Gaara, but with the new seal, Shukaku's chakra was more like a shield around him. The Kyuubi's chakra...it seemed to be integrated into Naruto's very bones, riling up as he did. Sakura couldn't help but wonder if the Kyuubi could see what Naruto did, as Shukaku saw through Gaara's eyes. Did the Kyuubi want Danzo dead as well? Or was he perhaps just driven by a hatred for the village that imprisoned him?

Two Jinchuuriki, several clan heirs, and several talented shinobi. Maybe it wasn't her ideal situation, but it certainly could have been a lot worse. Even Danzo would have a hard time against this team, all now equally motivated against him.

"It's decided, then." Kakashi looked back towards them, and Sakura could have sworn she saw pride in her mentor's eyes. "Shikamaru, you're a sharp kid. How do you suggest we enter?"

"Gaara in front." Shikamaru said immediately. "Naruto, you keep his flank. Gaara's sand will provide automatic defense from any traps we miss, and Naruto heals quickly. Kiba, Sai, and Kakashi behind. Kiba can try to pick out Danzo's scent, Kakashi and Sai have experience with the base so they'll have a better chance of knowing what to expect. Keep the Hyuuga in the middle so they can scan the area and relay information quickly. Sakura and Chouji can stay with them for protective support. If we lose the Hyuuga, we might potentially lose our chance to quickly find Danzo. Ino, Tenten, and I will follow for back end support. Shino and Lee in the back. Shino, you'll be responsible for making sure any shinobi we disable won't be able to use jutsu if they wake back up again. Let your kikaichu have a good, long meal. Lee, you've got the reflexes to survive any potential attacks from the rear, and if we need to call for assistance you're the quickest shinobi here. If things go sour, we'll be counting on you to get backup."

It was a solid plan, one Shikamaru had no doubt been coming up with since they realized they'd need to infiltrate the base. The group fell in line to fill their stated positions, and they allowed themselves only a moment to take a breath and prepare themselves. Sakura saw Gaara's body flare up with Shukaku's power, and even the earth beneath his feet began to crackle and swirl around him.

"Alright. We focus on finding and subduing Danzo. Anything else we find down there, we leave alone. Remember that Sai used to be a Root agent. The shinobi here are misguided. They are our enemies, but they are also our fellow Konoha citizens. Whomever we can leave alive, try to. But prioritize your own life above theirs. We need every man we can get to fight Danzo. We can't afford to lose anyone on the way in."

Weapons were drawn, dojutsu activated, and Sakura made sure her rock gauntlets were still solid. There were no further speeches or rousing battle cries. With a signal from Kakashi, Naruto kicked down the door to the base with Kyuubi enhanced strength and they began to move inside.

It was not a rush; they could not afford it to be. Every time they came across a new hallway or junction, the two Hyuuga scanned the area for seals or traps or enemies. For the first few minutes, their journey was surprisingly and eerily silent. There were occasional rumbles from the battle above and rubble gently fell onto their heads and to the ground below. The tunnels were dark, and would have been pitch black if not for the flickering lights that had been rigged to the ceiling. Every flicker seemed to cast a shadow that could easily have been mistaken for an enemy, and more than once Sakura saw Gaara's sand flare up in preliminary defense. Still, for the first stretch of the base, there was nothing.

"Barrier-shielded room ahead. Byakugan has difficulty perceiving past it." Sakura heard Neji whisper.

"There's at least a dozen figures inside, but it's hard to make out exactly whom." Hinata added. "They're...in some sort of defensive formation, but I can't see anything more than that."

"Expecting us." Shikamaru concluded. "The door is probably trapped. Can you make out anything about the room's layout?"

"There's the door with the barrier seal, and there's also three further exits from the room. I doubt we'll be able to see further until we're inside."

"What if it's a diversion?" Sai asked. "Danzo could be making it seem as though he's behind an army while he slips away elsewhere."

"Or he could be expecting us to think that and waste our time looking elsewhere." Sakura countered. "And perhaps knowing we'd think of that, he might be trying to split us up."

"I don't see anywhere else nearby that's occupied." Neji admitted. "If he is elsewhere, it's nowhere close."

"Considering how large the base is, we could waste a lot of time leaving to search elsewhere."

"We can't split up. Right now our best option is to investigate." Shikamaru decided. "Gaara, do you think your sand can fend off any traps if we bust down the door?"

"**Does a camel shit in the desert?**" Gaara's voice deepened with Shukaku's influence for a moment, and after Shukaku receded, Gaara blushed slightly. "...I mean. Yes."

"...right. We'll swarm in behind Gaara and try to disable as many as we can in the initial breakthrough. Sound good?"

There were no disagreements with Shikamaru's plan, and with that the group prepared themselves.

The barrier was held up by several paper seals, all of which Sai was thankfully familiar with. All it took was overlaying the pattern with a different series of seals and they'd be able to break through. It required precise timing and perfect aim, as all the new seals would have to be overlaid at once. Thankfully, Tenten was perfect for the job. Sai quickly sketched the seals to life and Tenten threw them, causing a strange sizzle and a release of chakra that everyone in the party could feel. Before the enemy had time to react, Gaara was slamming his sand into the door with powerful force, enough so that the doors were blown off their hinges and thrust inside. The group threw themselves in afterwards, ready to scrap.

Sakura paled when she realized what they had run into. The 'figures' that the Hyuuga had seen inside the room were not shinobi at all, but rather training dummies that had been set up in a mock defensive formation. More disturbingly, they were covered with dozens upon dozens of paper seals, all of which were now sizzling ominously.

"Hug the walls!" She heard Kakashi cry out. Root had _expected_ them to bring Hyuuga, she realized. The barrier hadn't been to hide the room, it had been to hide the _dummies_. Sakura threw herself towards one of the exits, and she saw the rest of her teammates heading towards doors, trying to escape the room before the bombs went off. The last thing she saw after that was Gaara's sand attempt to coalesce around the dummies in the form of a dome. Then, she felt a rush of force as all of the dummies exploded at once.

Gaara's sand succeeded in taking the force of the blow, and for a moment Sakura thought they were in the clear. They'd been pushed back slightly, but the group appeared unharmed.

Then, she heard cracking.

Gaara hadn't protected the _ceiling_ from the blow, instead having directed his effort to keeping the force from their comrades. They were safe, but the force of the bombs had been directed _upwards_ instead. There were several cracks and then a large rumble, and then the ceiling began to tumble down. Sakura felt herself being pulled away from the center and towards the door she'd rushed towards before, and with that darkness overtook her as the room behind her collapsed.

* * *

The ceiling lights had been disabled by the collapse, so it was Sakura's flashlight flickering to life that allowed her to take stock of the hall around her. She had a few scrapes, but nothing lethal, and it looked like the people around her were carefully stirring to their feet as well.

Gaara, Sai, Naruto, and Ino...four people out of the fourteen had made it into her hallway, and all she could hope was that the others had made it out as well before the collapse. She let Gaara help her to her feet, still a bit shaky from having survived such a deadly trap.

"Well, you were right. You protected us from the traps." Sai commented dryly. "Too bad you didn't protect the _roof_."

"**Kiss my ass, dust-mite.**" Shukaku spat out. "**You're alive, aren't you?**"

"_No_ arguing, you two." Sakura insisted. "We're down to five and we don't know what's waiting for us this way." She focused, doing what she _should_ have done earlier instead of relying on the Byakugan, and sent out a pulse of her sensing chakra. Behind them, she picked up on nine chakra signatures. Her comrades were alive. Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Everyone else made it out before the collapse. And…" She sent out another pulse, this one stronger than the last, and though she couldn't help but wince as Gaara and Naruto's signatures flooded her senses, she caught wind of a speck of chakra in the distance ahead of them. "...there's actual enemies that way, I think. Either that or there's something that's exuding chakra."

"We still...have a mission to complete." Ino concluded with a nervous swallow. "Do you think we stand a chance against Danzo with just the five of us?"

"Come on, Ino, you're with the future Hokage!" Naruto insisted, patting her back in a matter that wasn't exactly the gentlest. "Plus, you've got Sakura and Gaara here and they're some of the strongest shinobi I know! Oh, and I guess Sai is here too."

"Someone needed enough brains here to make up for the ones you're lacking."

"Okay, we _really_ don't have time for posturing." Sakura insisted, reaching out to gently thwap Naruto and Sai both on the back of their heads. "We have unknown enemy numbers ahead, and we know Danzo is capable of using Sharingan to immobilize opponents. We all know how to break out of Izanami now, but that just means he'll be forced to use techniques that we don't know about. Our best option is to try and knock Danzo out with poison so we can remove the Sharingan and bring him in for proper judgment from the Hokage, but I doubt he's going to go that easily. If we have to kill him, we need to be prepared to." Sakura looked to Naruto and Ino. "Have...have either of you two killed on a mission before this?"

"It's happened." Ino answered for them. "We won't hesitate, Sakura. You don't have to worry about that."

"Right." Sakura nodded. "Gaara, you should keep in front in case Danzo's left any more nasty surprises. I'll keep using my sensing jutsu to make sure we're not snuck up on. Are we ready to move forward?"

There was silent agreement, and all they could do from there was move on.

* * *

"Son of a _bitch_."

Shikamaru cursed as he brushed rubble off his jacket. Nearby, he saw the two Hyuuga helping each other up, and behind them Chouji was checking the stability of the rubble.

"I can give it a try, Shikamaru, but I don't think I can break through it without causing more to collapse on top of us."

"He counted on us coming in with Byakugan." Neji added. "The barrier warped our perception of those dummies. We only saw figures that _looked_ like shinobi. That means he planned to separate us, maybe even take one or two of us down in the process."

"Can you see the others through the rubble?"

"They're alive. Five to our left, five across from us."

"If we can't go back, our only option is to see if there's an exit down these tunnels. Danzo wouldn't have risked blocking himself in. Any of these tunnels could have collapsed at any point." Shikamaru began to deduce. "Right now our mission is to find an exit, and if we run into Danzo on the way…" He hesitated. Neji, Hinata, Chouji, and himself...it wasn't exactly a good team for taking on the Root commander, even if Neji was considered a Byakugan prodigy. "We don't engage." He concluded. "Right now we need to either find a way to regroup or find a way out to seek help. We stay as quiet as we can and hope we don't attract any unwanted attention."

It was a long shot. Danzo would surely have expected at least a few shinobi to survive the blast. But right now, it was the only shot they had.

* * *

Kakashi admittedly wasn't very fond of cave-ins. After all, that was how Obito had died.

Thankfully, it looked as though none of the genin in his section of the room had gotten injured. Gaara's sand had done a good job of keeping most of the force of the blow away from them. But that was only four of the genin accounted for, with no way of determining the state of the other nine. And the rubble behind them was far too thick to dig through to find out.

Two of Gai's students were here, the weapons girl and the taijutsu clone, Lee. The other two were from Kurenai's team, the Aburame and the Inuzuka, dog included. Still a somewhat formidable team, but lacking the visual prowess of the Hyuuga meant that they'd be moving through the corridors blind. Kakashi had a vague recollection of the layout of the Root base, but it had been years since he'd actually set foot in it.

"We need to find a way out." Kakashi decided. "If we find Danzo on the way, we attempt to neutralize him. Shino, was it? Your kikaichu will probably be our best shot. Sharingan transplants require a large amount of chakra to use, and if he's drained, he can't use them. Kiba, we'll be counting on you and your partner to sniff out potential threats. Maybe even a way out if you can catch scent of outside air."

"Got it." Kiba replied. "Hey...Akamaru doesn't really smell any blood. It probably means the others are alright."

"Thank goodness." Tenten let out a sigh of relief. "If Danzo's willing to bring down the base to stop us, that must mean he plans on escaping out of it, right? He can't be planning on using this again."

"Most likely. And that just means he either planned on getting us stuck here forever, or he has an escape route somewhere down these halls. Stick together and keep vigilant." Kakashi let himself take point. Right now, his biggest concern was keeping the kids safe.

Still, he couldn't help but get a sinking feeling that keeping safe was going to be harder than he'd initially thought.

* * *

Deep within the caverns of the Root base, tremors echoed through the halls and into a darkened room. It only stopped the medic temporarily. Carefully, one by one, the medic removed eyes from Danzo's arm and replaced them with one of the jarred eyeballs at his side.

"You've used up more than half of your stock, Lord Danzo." The medic told him. "I'd suggest you'd be more careful with these ones. You recall that using Izanami renders them useless?"

"Of course I recall it." Danzo snapped. "I may not have a choice in the matter."

An agent nearby, a scout, stood by the door with a kunai ready. The report had already been made: Sakura Haruno had broken through Izanami and had somehow freed the other Kage. Unless the Kage were dealt with, the battle might fall out of their favor.

Danzo needed a different kind of technique now. If immobilizing them would not work, he would just have to deal with them permanently. The new transplants, coupled with the boost given to him by Hashirama's cells, would give him about twenty minutes of Izanagi. Assuming he could get the drop on the Kage, that would be more than enough time to take them out for good…

"Sir. There's people coming this way. Less than half a dozen."

The scout shifted, preparing to defend his leader against the intruders. Outside the door there were two more guards at the ready, but that and the medic were all that stood between the attackers and Danzo.

Still...less than half a dozen? With Izanagi at his disposal, it would be easy enough. Danzo flexed his arm, feeling the rush of chakra begin to pull into it as the Sharingan eyes awakened.

It was time.


	61. Chapter 61

There were small vents in the rock, tiny holes that filtered in outside air to prevent any of Root's denizens from suffocating deep beneath the earth. As they headed further into the tunnel's depths, Shikamaru began to see light: integrated ceiling lamps that hadn't been damaged by the cave in. They didn't appear to be attached to any electrical wiring, and Shikamaru couldn't help but passively wonder how Danzo had managed to hook them up. Root had to be off the city's main electrical grid, otherwise it would have risked civilians knowing the location. Had Root set up their own generators? Had they used lightning chakra in some way, storing it within seals to slowly power the lamps over time?

If they survived this, Shikamaru decided he was going to petition Tsunade to let this be his new secret base. Nobody would bother him down here, it was dark and quiet, he could study how the lamps worked...and he'd _earned_ a ridiculous reward for the amount of trouble he'd went through for this. The only problem was...surviving.

There was an eerie quiet to the tunnels, nothing from ahead of them, and no sounds indicating that there might be a multi-village war raging in the village above them. Shikamaru wondered if this was intentional, this quieting of the tunnels. Maybe there were seals somewhere that kept away outside noise, muffled the steps of those within...the silence was even a bit much for _him_, if he had to admit it. He preferred a silence that was dotted with the rustling of leaves and grass, the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects. Not silence, just _calm_. Here in the unnatural silence, Shikamaru could easily see himself just _losing_ it. No people, no nature, no noise...how had Root _lived_ in these conditions?

(He thought of Sai, thought of what Sakura had told him about the boy and how he'd repressed his emotions, repressed his entire sense of _self_. Sai hadn't really been living at all, had he?)

"Stop."

Neji's voice rang out, thankfully breaking the monotonous silence. Shikamaru pumped chakra to his feet and stuck himself to the floor, the easiest way to come to an abrupt halt after jogging. He instinctively reached out to grab at Chouji's scarf, stopping him just in time. He would have missed it in their run, but Neji certainly hadn't: a tripwire. It was so thin that it was barely visible in the light, and as Shikamaru squinted he could see a few more ahead of them, expertly stretched out so that if you had missed one, you might have certainly ran into another if you hadn't been careful.

"More traps." Shikamaru sighed. "Naturally it wasn't going to be an easy jog out."

"There's a large room up ahead." Hinata continued to look outward. "It's...got those seals again, that make it difficult to see. It looks like there's one person in the room, but it could just be another dummy."

"There's a large concentration of those seals on the ground, and...a lot of tripwires." Neji added. "But no movement."

"Most likely another dummy." Shikamaru concluded. "But...in the case that it isn't, we need to tread carefully."

If only Shino or Kiba had been here, he lamented, or even Gaara with that strange sand-eye ability that let him see in places he wasn't at. Usually the Byakugan's reconnaissance abilities were more than sufficient, but naturally Danzo would have expected that on his home turf. "We need to just take it slow." Shikamaru continued. "Neji, Hinata, you keep an eye on the trip wires. Chouji, you take point and start making your way through. I can use my shadows to catch you if you misstep."

"R-right." Chouji was naturally nervous, but Shikamaru figured if the largest of them couldn't make it through tripwire hell, they'd have to find an alternate method through anyway. If Chouji could make it, _they_ could.

It was a slow process. Whomever had set up these traps was a true expert, layering wires under wires and using the shadows to attempt to make it more difficult to see them. Shikamaru recognized the true trap beneath them all; this was just here to _slow them down_. The more cautious they were, the _slower_ they were, which meant it would take longer for them to reach the end of this tunnel.

But, that had certain implications. Shikamaru smiled.

"There's going to be an exit at the end of this." He told the others. "That's why it's been trapped the way it has been. The other passages likely led to Danzo, but he figured some of us would have gotten trapped this way. All these wires means it takes longer for us to get help."

"That makes me believe that there isn't a dummy waiting for us." Neji added. "He wouldn't have left our escape up to the chance of us potentially getting past these traps."

"...yep." Shikamaru sighed once again. "Seems like that's the likely option."

There was an enemy waiting for them. Potentially more, if the seals were skewing the Byakugan enough, but Hinata had seemed certain it was just one. If it _was_ only one, it was likely a Root agent that Danzo thought capable of taking on multiple people. Someone strong, at least jounin level. And, most likely, the person who had set up all of these ridiculous tripwires.

Troublesome.

This person had the benefit of setting up their arena to their liking. A trap master in particular thrived off of controlling their surroundings. The only benefit Shikamaru could attribute to his group was that the enemy would have no way of knowing their _own_ abilities, but even that was an iffy advantage at best. Sai had seen a dossier on clan abilities, so he had to assume _everyone_ in Root had seen it. And there were four clan children here...none of whom he knew had original, non-clan techniques. The enemy might not know them yet, but after a few moments of battle, it would become painfully obvious. That meant they only had one true advantage, and that was that they would be getting the first move.

Shikamaru pulled out an empty scroll. It was possible they'd be close enough to the enemy now that they could be heard. His plan now depended on a measure of stealth, and it involved sending three of his fellows into an unknown, potentially deadly scenario...while he stayed behind.

All with the fate of Root potentially on the line. But no pressure, of course.

Shikamaru drew his companions in close and began to write.

* * *

"There's water ahead. Muddy water, really muddy water and...a person, though they've hidden their scent. They might be waiting in the water."

"Do you think it's an underground lake?" Tenten asked. "It might be a cave exit where the runoff has built up."

Kakashi held up a hand and quieted the genin. While an exit was admittedly an exciting prospect after maneuvering through cave tunnels for what had to be close to half an hour now, Kiba had already scented an enemy, and it was foolish to think they'd be able to sneak on by without the enemy catching on. Plus, if it was only one...it was someone that Danzo had thought more than capable of preventing an escape. Jounin-level at _least_, but most of Root were considered Anbu-level to begin with.

But Kakashi had an ace up his sleeve. Something that not even Danzo had known he had. If they planned things right, if he had time to build it up, Kamui could take out _any_ opponent, no matter how skilled they were.

"Lee, you remember what Shikamaru told you back when we first entered here?"

"He told me to be prepared to retreat and find assistance." Lee confirmed. "But Kakashi-sensei, I want to-"

"No, Lee. You're the fastest one here, and we're facing unknown enemies. Right now the most important thing is to assess the outside situation and bring help if the Kage have gotten things under control. The four of us will be attempting to take our enemy down, but your primary goal is to _get out_, and that is an order. If something happens to us, you might be our only hope."

"...I understand." Lee was, of course, sullen at being sent away from a fight, but the boy thankfully knew the value of seeking assistance. He bent down and pulled off his leg warmers, removing the weights he had hidden beneath. Good. He'd be far too fast for most shinobi to keep up with now. With everyone else running distraction, Lee would escape in no time.

"Good. Now, Shino, Tenten, the two of you will be staying back. If there's an underground lake coming up, it will likely be a large chamber, and you two are much better at range. Keep away from the main fight. Kiba, that means you and Akamaru will be providing me with backup."

"Got it." Kiba grinned, baring his sharp canines. "We can knock down anyone that gets in Lee's way, no problem."

"That will be our first goal. Once Lee has gotten through, our secondary objective will be, if possible, a non-lethal takedown of whomever stands in our way. Root operatives can be rehabilitated with proper effort, and Lady Tsunade won't want to waste life if we can help it. If we're given no other option, then I'll do the takedown."

He watched Tenten ready several weapon scrolls, saw Kiba pull out two ration pills for himself and Akamaru, and heard the soft buzz of Shino's insects preparing for battle. They were as ready as they'd ever be.

With a hand signal, his team rushed forward.

True to their predictions, the tunnel opened up into a large area that was nearly filled with water. There were a couple of high rocks and stones, but the dampness of the cave would likely make them too slippery to rely on. They'd have to rely on water-walking, which was likely exactly what the enemy shinobi was hoping for. Kakashi did not see them above the water, and that meant they were dealing with a water-affinitied shinobi. A disadvantage already. Water slowly down thrown weapons, and Shino's bugs likely didn't hold up well in water either.

He did, however, see a speck of light in the distance. An exit. He could almost feel Lee itching to try and run for it, but things were just...too calm.

Kakashi drew a shuriken and threw it towards the water, causing a small splash. For a moment, the water stilled. Then, Kakashi felt a rumble.

The water suddenly burst upwards, and what appeared to be a giant catfish engulfed the area where the shuriken had hit. With a loud splash it landed back into the water, and Kakashi could see its large shadow going back to settle within its depths.

"I should have known Sharingan Kakashi would have come along to help the Konoha brats."

A man rose up from the water, and Kakashi paled as he realized that it was _Ogano_, the Kage of the River Village. Someone at Kage level was potentially out of his league, out of _all_ their leagues.

"_The enemy leaders are under a different genjutsu of Danzo's…"_

Sakura's words rang in his ears. Not only was this an enemy Kage, it was a potentially _brainwashed_ Kage, which meant he couldn't, in good conscious, attempt a lethal takedown unless they had no other choice. Not that Kakashi minded taking down an enemy, but the thought crossed him that _Sakura_ might kill him if he took down a compromised leader and put her treaty at risk. That meant, unless there wasn't any other option...no Kamui.

Damn.

"Should have known the River Shrew would have sided with the Konoha dissidents." Kakashi retorted in turn. "If you think a big fish is enough to deter us, then you've let yourself get overconfident." He raised up a hand and began to summon lightning chakra to it. Water was a good conductor, and a lightning-natured technique would trump any earthen techniques the Kage could pull. There were rumors that Ogano could use mud-style techniques with some proficiency as well, but even if those were true, Kakashi had the advantage.

Then again, he was facing a _Kage_.

"If you think a little lightning scares me, you've gotten overconfident as well." Ogano grinned. "I know for a fact you cannot use your Chidori for long. Danzo estimated three or four times a day. All I have to do is dodge, and you've lost your advantage."

The Chidori was an assassination technique, not meant for direct assault. Kakashi had the ability to react while using it due to the Sharingan, but even then, he needed to hold an opponent down to ensure the Chidori hit. His dogs would be ineffective at holding down Ogano on water...which meant he needed to time his strike perfectly or else he'd waste a Chidori attempt.

But first, they needed to get Lee out.

"Alright. Let's see you put your money where your mouth is." Kakashi offered, sinking into a ready stance. "Lee, get ready to move."

"You can count on me, Kakashi-sensei." Lee nodded, readying himself as well.

Without further ado, Kakashi pushed himself across the water. He caught a glimpse of the great fish beginning to move beneath him, and he leaped from the water's surface just as the fish lunged for him. For a moment, he prepared to strike below...and then Kiba slammed into it with a joint 'Fang Over Fang' technique, him and Akamaru each hitting the fish with powerful force. Kiba had promised to provide support, and Kakashi was glad the genin had already picked up on what he needed to do. In the distant, he saw Lee sprint across the water, too fast for anything but his Sharingan to even remotely pick up on. Lee had gotten through...now he could focus on the Kage.

He let the momentum carry him downwards towards Ogano, but instead of wasting a Chidori, Kakashi switched to a kunai. Better to see how Ogano moved first, and when Ogano dispersed in a splash of water, Kakashi knew he'd made the right decision. Water clone. Ogano likely wouldn't risk his true body until Kakashi had used up his chakra, which meant they had to find a way to flush him out.

"Kiba, keep the fish occupied!" Kakashi called out. He kept quiet towards Tenten and Shino; for all he knew, Ogano might not have caught wind of them yet, and if they could provide surprise ranged support, all the more advantage for him.

Then, suddenly, he felt a hand grab around his ankle, and Kakashi's world became water.

* * *

Sakura sensed Danzo before she sensed the other shinobi. The amount of chakra it was taking to power the Sharingan eye had become near blinding, and now there was a strange _other_ chakra mixing in, one that reminded Sakura of the sturdiness of earth and the anxious flow of water. This strange chakra mingled with the chakra of the Sharingan and created something new, like how red and blue could make purple, only it was a new mixture of _chakra_ and she had no idea what that entailed. Danzo had experimented on himself so much that he'd made new _chakra_.

There was a small squad of Root shinobi guarding the entrance to Danzo's lair, but even they couldn't stand up against the joint power of two Jinchuuriki working together. Sakura didn't even feel the need to provide backup; while she trusted Gaara to hold back around her, she didn't want to risk getting between the fierce aura of the Kyuubi and Naruto's enemies. It was an aura that slowly peaked to match Danzo's strangeness, only instead of a strange mingle, the Kyuubi's aura was somehow _raw_, and Sakura could feel a weird bubbling of malice within it that genuinely scared her.

Ino had been _talking_ with the Kyuubi, though, so they could trust its influence...couldn't they? Shukaku had proven an ally, after all.

Danzo's chamber was thankfully not trapped, and as the five of them pushed their way in, Sakura caught sight of another shinobi fleeing the scene, carrying with him several large scrolls. Danzo, however, did not flee. He stood, tall and proud, ready to face them...and he had replaced the used Sharingan in his arm with others that had not permanently shut. There was no way he thought Izanami would work on them again, so what was the point of those eyes now? Was there another technique he had yet to reveal?

Sakura drew the kunai Kakashi had given her and took a ready stance. There was no need for words now, as far as she was concerned. Danzo had threatened the lives of her comrades. Danzo threatened the stability of Konoha. He had led to the destabilization of Amegakure, ordered the death of the Uchiha clan, had the _audacity_ to claim it was for the good of Konoha...no, there was no holding back against a man like this. No chance for peace. No chance for diplomacy.

"You'd better be ready for an **ass-kicking**, Danzo!" Naruto called out, somehow echoing Sakura's thoughts exactly. Sakura heard a bit of a growl in Naruto's voice, and even in the darkness of the cave she could see that his whisker markings had darkened, and his eyes had taken on a bestial appearance. The Kyuubi's influence was growing stronger, to the point where she could feel its presence even without her sensing jutsu.

"I believe I must admit to being proven wrong." Danzo answered. "I had thought even Izanami would prove difficult to overcome, and yet here you stand before me, Sakura Haruno, no worse for the wear. You might even deserve the title of Sharingan Breaker."

Sharingan Breaker? Had others called her that? Sakura had only heard the negative rumors in Konoha of how she had turned traitor, but she supposed, after surviving Itachi's genjutsu, that word would have _probably_ gotten out…

But Sakura didn't let herself rise to Danzo's statement. She simply settled into her fighting stance, ready to move when her enemy did.

"No words for me?" Danzo asked. "I suppose you've heard enough from me. But I have yet to get everything I desire from you. Whether you hold some new kekkei genkai or you are just lucky...I shall find that out. Here and now...or later when I dissect your corpse."

Gaara and Sai moved in front of her without another word, and Naruto, ever the battle-hungry one, called out for Danzo's attention instead.

"Hey you creepy bastard, _I'm_ the one calling you out here!"

But Danzo seemed to ignore him, instead speaking to Sakura once more.

"I asked you if you were prepared for the trials ahead of you. It seems you were more prepared than I thought. But now, of course, we can see each other clearly. Much as Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju fought over their villages fate all those years ago...so now we too fight over that ancient question. Strength or unity?"

"Your problem is that you think them mutually exclusive." Sakura finally let herself answer. "Since you're stupid enough to try and fight us alone, we'll just have to show you what you're missing out on."

Strangely, Danzo smiled at this. "Show me, then. This time, Sakura, we end it."

Sakura was ready, but true to form it was Naruto that moved first. She heard a pop as a clone came into existence, and both Naruto and clone put their hands together and began to generate chakra. It was a spiralling ball, the technique that Naruto had told her was called the Rasengan. However, it was different from the time she had seen it nearly a year ago, when Naruto had faced down Sasuke on the hospital roof. It _shrieked_ for one thing, making a high pitched noise that almost forced her to cover her ears. It reminded her of a howling wind, like the way windstorms would sometimes scream as they were pushed over the mountains in Iwagakure.

A _wind_ transformation of the original technique, it had to be. Naruto had mentioned that Jiraiya had been teaching him wind release, and with Tsunade teaching him chakra control...he'd applied both teachings to create a horrifying technique. Even more horrifying was when Naruto heaved the technique forward and it _flew_, spinning through the air like a shuriken and slamming directly into Danzo's body. (The man hadn't even _tried_ to dodge, Sakura noticed, why not? Why not _try_ to move?) Sakura saw blood fly as the technique cut through Danzo...no, it wasn't a cut, it was an _evisceration_, and it didn't stop there, it didn't stop until it hit the cave wall behind Danzo and cut into _that_ too, spinning and spinning through the rock until Sakura had lost sight of it.

Finally, the horrible screeching became too distant to hear, and a blessed silence fell over the chamber.

Was that...had that been _it_.

"Dumb bastard couldn't even handle my ultimate technique." Naruto said gleefully. "See, Ino, what did I tell you?"

"Naruto, what the _hell_ was that?" Ino demanded. "You could have brought down the entire _cave_ if you'd aimed that wrong!"

"I got Danzo, didn't I?" Naruto protested. "And the cave is fine, it's fine! Tsunade made me practice aiming my Rasenshuriken over and over for _days_, there's no way I can miss!"

Rasen...shuriken? Not the most original name, but it had a certain ring to it. Sakura let herself smile. Maybe...maybe Danzo just _hadn't_ planned on Naruto's ultimate technique being so strong. Maybe…

"Fortunately for me, it doesn't matter if you hit or miss."

Sakura froze, her hair standing on end as she heard Danzo's voice from _behind them_. But she'd _seen_ the technique hit, she had _seen_ Danzo's body torn apart! How had he appeared _behind _them?

"Thanks to Izanagi, I am invincible."

Sakura leaped backwards just in time, taking shelter behind Gaara's sand as Danzo sent forth a wind technique of his own. The sharp gust slammed against the sand but did not break.

But Danzo had _survived_, and now Sakura had to figure out how. How could someone avoid a technique so powerful and not have a scratch on him? Substitution? A Sharingan technique?

Izanami had been the first technique Danzo had used on them...Izanagi had to be a pair. But so far none of the eyes on Danzo's arm had closed. Either it wasn't a Sharingan technique, or it didn't force the eye closed like Izanami did.

Either way, if she didn't figure it out quickly...they'd be fighting an invincible opponent. And that meant they were doomed to fail.

* * *

Shikamaru had always maintained that fighting girls was troublesome. This was not due to him thinking them weak, or due to some misplaced sense of chivalry. His father had always _encouraged_ him not to fight with girls, that was true, but that was because his father knew the truth that the world had yet to completely realize.

Kunoichi had grown up in a world that had belittled them, delegated them to healing and support roles, and thought them the weaker of the sexes. Perhaps things were better now that the hidden villages _allowed_ women to register as official shinobi, but prejudices from the warring era were still buried within the population, and kunoichi were fighting against those prejudices from the moment they stepped into the academy. Because of this, Shikamaru knew, kunoichi grew up _fierce_.

So when Shikamaru peeked into the cavern and saw a _kunoichi_ waiting for them, surrounded by dozens of tripwires and exploding tags, he _knew_ he was in for a troublesome fight. Kunoichi were dangerous. A kunoichi raised as a trap specialist in Root was downright horrifying. If they didn't immobilize her quickly, Shikamaru knew they wouldn't be getting out of here alive.

"Three little worms, crawling right into my nest." The kunoichi announced. "Lord Danzo told me I'd get to have some fun today. Will I get to see them dance?"

From his position, Shikamaru saw the two Hyuuga fall into the Gentle Fist stance. Chouji had yet to use his expansion jutsu; rather, he _couldn't_, not without risking setting off a wire. Still, his hands were at the ready. If the kunoichi came close, he could enlarge his hands in an instant and land a powerful blow.

"Two pretty Hyuuga." The kunoichi continued to speak, and Shikamaru saw her begin to walk across her wires like tightrope. Despite her weight, she wasn't setting the tripwires off...was it some sort of unique technique? Or perhaps they weren't traps at all, but merely something for her to use to keep above her opponents? But Shikamaru knew _that_ couldn't be trusted either. A true master would have mixed walking wires and trap ones, so that anyone else who tried to land on a wire would risk setting something off. "Two pretty Hyuuga with four pretty eyes for my leader. If Lord Danzo has Byakugan _and_ Sharingan, nobody will be able to challenge him."

"That implies you're capable of beating us." Neji countered. "I have fought shinobi far more intimidating than you."

"Oh?" The kunoichi tilted her head, looking curious. "Truly? Then I suppose I shall have to correct that. But first...let's bring your other little friend out to play!"

The kunoichi brought her hands in front of her to make a hand sign, one Shikamaru did not recognize. After a moment, Shikamaru heard a hissing noise behind him.

Somehow, she'd _activated the tunnel traps from a distance._

Shikamaru cursed, rushing forward and only just avoiding the traps in front of him as the tunnel suddenly exploded. He landed in a roll, coming to a skidding halt next to Chouji. Behind him, the tunnel began to collapse as large rocks landed and blocked the entrance.

"Now you're all stuck in here with me." The kunoichi announced. "Now I get to watch you _dance_."

So much for plan A.

Shikamaru had planned to use his shadows to possess the kunoichi from a safe distance, using the cave shadows to elongate his reach while the Hyuuga distracted her. Now, however, the kunoichi would see his hand sign and know the technique was coming, no matter how well she hid it. Plus, in the darkness of the cave, it was hard to get a glimpse of where the kunoichi's natural shadow fell, and even more so when the kunoichi moved. If Shikamaru couldn't catch her when she was still, he wouldn't be able to catch her at all.

Right now, he just had to hope for a chance.

Chouji fell into a defensive position next to him, letting his body grow so that Shikamaru was shielded from the kunoichi's view. "Don't give up yet, Shika."

"I know, buddy, I know." Shikamaru took a deep breath and readied his jutsu. "So long as she doesn't bring the damn cave down on us."

It was a bad matchup no matter how he looked at it, and it became worse as the kunoichi suddenly began to launch an assault of weaponry towards them. The Hyuuga both leapt into action, deflecting the weapons with chakra-enhanced strikes, but they could only move so much without setting off one of the tripwires around them.

Thankfully, their defense was still good enough to buy Shikamaru time. He began to weave his shadow along the tripwires, knowing at some point she would land on one of them. There were, by his count, at least two dozen tripwires in the room, and with the enhancement of the shadows from the cave, he could reach out and cover at least half of them. It was a dangerous waiting game, but one that eventually paid off. The kunoichi landed on one of his covered wires and came to a halt, grimacing as she realized what had happened.

"Shadow Possession complete." Shikamaru announced. "Could one of you go knock her out for me?"

"Gladly." It was Neji who moved forward, expertly avoiding wires until he could get close enough for a blow. Shikamaru timed it, releasing his possession just as Neji aimed for the kunoichi's heart.

And then the kunoichi burst into a puff of smoke.

A fucking _clone_.

"Naughty, naughty. That's not how you're supposed to dance."

Not one, but _two_ copies of the kunoichi made their way onto the wires now, each cackling with glee as they began their shuriken assault once more. Hinata was now working double time to keep Chouji safe from projectiles, and Neji was prevented from rejoining the group with one clone focusing entirely on keeping him occupied. Neji managed to knock one out with an appropriately time Air Palm technique, but as the one copy was eliminated, two more came to replace it.

"She's evenly split her chakra between them. We can't tell which one is the original!" Hinata called out.

Then, Shikamaru decided, the original likely wasn't there to begin with. Why would a traps specialist risk getting caught in one of their own traps?

Neji had mentioned a large concentration of blocking seals on the ground. He wondered if those seals were setups for traps...or if they were simply hiding the true kunoichi from view. They needed to break the ground somehow, and while Chouji would normally be best for that, expansion only meant a chance that a tripwire would be set off.

They could try to lengthen the battle and wait for the kunoichi to drain herself of chakra from overuse of shadow clones, but every second wasted here was a second that some of their own had to spend potentially fighting Danzo _alone_.

There was only one thing to do, and that was to try and figure out which tripwires were safe. Once Shikamaru had done that, he could maneuver Chouji to a safe area and attempt to break apart the ground beneath them, and hopefully not set off _more_ traps in the process.

From there, the kunoichi would die.

So Shikamaru watched.

He knew the Hyuuga were considering the situation too, and at one point Shikamaru saw Neji attempt to lash out at one of the wires that the kunoichi had been walking on. A smart idea: take away her safe tripwires and she either risked setting off her traps or had to fight on the ground. However, even with chakra enhancing his strike, Neji's hand bled as it came into contact with the wire. The wire was sharp...that made sense. The kunoichi was wearing boots, which protecting her skin from damage, but if anyone tried to cut the wire without a weapon, they were screwed. (And of course, _none_ of them here were really proficient at kenjutsu.) He had kunai he could use, of course, but that required a decent guess to which wires were safe and leaving the comfort of Chouji's protection.

It was a risk he was going to be forced to take. Right now, there were no other options, not unless there was some sort of miracle.

Sakura always wished on that amulet of hers for luck, Shikamaru had noticed, though it had been subtle. She had gripped it and closed her eyes briefly before infiltrating the Uchiha compound, and even before going into battle with Lee. Whatever the amulet meant, she considered it lucky.

It was silly, Shikamaru _knew_ it was silly, but he let himself draw that symbol in the dirt beneath him. He _needed_ Sakura's luck now.

He readied a kunai and prepared to move, looking towards the closest wire that he _knew_ the kunoichi had landed on moments before.

Then, before he could move, the ceiling exploded above them.

Several of the tripwires detonated as someone came through the rock, sending volleys of kunai in various directions. There was even a small explosion off in a corner nearby, but nowhere near any of his comrades. However, one of the kunoichi's clones poofed away in a burst of smoke as a new kunoichi with a shock of blue hair landed a powerful kick onto it.

Shikamaru recognized the newcomer. It was the Taki shinobi, the one called Fuu, only she was alive with a strangely powerful shroud of chakra, and chakric wings sprouting from her back.

"You better leave Hinata alone, you piece of shit!" Fuu announced, drawing a twin pair of katana from her back. "Or else you're going to have to face _me_!"

Though he was vaguely annoyed that Fuu hadn't really acknowledged the rest of the group's existence, he couldn't exactly begrudge the help. She'd detonated some of the tripwires without taking out any of their allies, and now they had someone with katanas who could help _cut_ the damn things. Or, even better…

She'd broken through the ceiling above them, and Shikamaru could now see the light of day shining through. That meant, whatever technique the kunoichi had used, she could break through _rock_.

"Fuu!" He called out. "The real one is beneath us, you need to flush her out! Just don't set off any more tripwires!"

"Huh? Tripwires?" Fuu looked around, frowning. "Oh, I guess there's a few of those, huh. But you don't have to worry about _those_ since I'm here."

She floated around the wires, whipping back and forth in a manner that reminded Shikamaru vaguely of a hummingbird. She grabbed hold of a protesting Neji and flew him back towards the group, depositing him on the ground next to Shikamaru.

"Alright, Hinata. Make sure you watch how strong I am, alright?" Fuu's frown turned into a grin. "First, I'll keep you safe from those traps."

And then, with a deep breath, Fuu was suddenly spewing threads around them, weaving them into a cocoon that covered them from every angle. It was a bit gross, Shikamaru had to admit, but Hinata seemed fascinated by them.

"They're...chakra enhanced threads!"

"Damn right!" He heard Fuu call back from outside the cocoon. "They'll keep you safe so stay in there, okay? I'll be done in just a minute!"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Shikamaru heard and felt a series of large explosions come from outside the cocoon. He instinctively readied his kunai, not sure if that meant Fuu had succeeded or loss. Surely no ordinary kunoichi could survive such a trapped room, could they?

But it seemed as though a miracle _had_ happened, for once the dust had settled it was Fuu that returned to the cocoon, gently peeling it open to let the group out. "All done!" She announced, reaching out to offer her hand to Hinata. "Shibuki told me it might be dangerous, but she wasn't so bad!"

"Man, are you for real?" Shikamaru groaned. "I thought we were _toast_."

"Then you're lucky the strongest kunoichi in the world came to your rescue!"

"How did you even know where to find us?" Chouji asked.

"I heard you." Fuu rolled her eyes. "Duh. Anyone could feel the rumble of those explosions from outside. I figured you'd just gotten below ground somehow and I took a guess."

_So she got lucky too_…

Shikamaru would have groaned more, but...they were _alive_. They were alive, and now they could figure out what had happened to the others.

"Fuu...we need to find our companions. You know Sakura, right? She might need our help."

"Sakura? But she's strong enough to handle anything." Fuu argued. "Still...I owe her one for saving my butt in Taki. I guess I can go lend her a hand. But Hinata, you stay here and keep safe, alright?"

"Um, but...we should really go help too…" Hinata replied, twiddling her fingers in a way Shikamaru hadn't seen her do unless _Naruto_ was around. Was the girl nervous?

"Yeah, we all need to go." Shikamaru agreed. "So...lead the way, if you can find them."

"...alright, _alright_, I can't say no to a pretty face."

This time, as Fuu took Hinata's hand, Shikamaru _definitely_ saw the Hyuuga blush.

* * *

Kakashi was feeling an extreme sense of deja vu today. First the second attempted takeover of Konoha during a chuunin exam, then the cave collapse, now drowning. Ogano wasn't nearly as intimidating looking as Zabuza had been, but that didn't mean the Kage couldn't spin together a nasty series of water jutsu all the same. If Kakashi tried a lightning technique underwater, he'd succeed in electrocuting Ogano _and_ himself, which wasn't the most desirable of outcomes. At the very least he wasn't trapped in a water bubble like Zabuza had managed, but it was almost worst to have the temporary taste of freedom, only to have Ogano drag him back down again with a well-timed water whip. What didn't help was that Ogano had allowed his catfish to kick up the mud in the water until visibility was practically zero. Kakashi didn't know which way was up even _with_ his Sharingan activated, and it was only chance when he managed to get high enough to get a breath of fresh air.

He needed to turn the situation around _fast_.

He occasionally caught a glimpse of Kiba and Akamaru spiralling through the water, and the pair had done a decent enough job of keeping the giant catfish off his back. However, it also did a very decent job of stirring up the mud further, and sometimes Kakashi had to move just to get out of _Kiba's_ assault.

Thankfully, Gai's student had used the opportunity to plan. Ogano was far too concerned with dealing with him to pay attention to a genin nearby, and Tenten took advantage. Whenever Kakashi broke the surface, he caught a glimpse of Tenten setting up a series of explosive tags alongside a wall, near to where the cave's entrance was. She was planning on trying to drain the lake, Kakashi realized, and Shino had moved to the entrance to try and direct her to a suitable location. It would take a pretty big explosion to make a hole to drain a lake this large, but Tenten had no shortage of tags. More importantly, an explosion that large would likely draw in attention...though whether that attention was friend or foe would depend on how the battle had gone outside. Kakashi, at this point, was willing to take a chance. His Sharingan was muddle, he couldn't summon his ninken, and his Chidori would kill him just as quickly as it would kill his opponent.

But even if Tenten was setting up for something big...he couldn't just sit here and take Ogano's drowning like a water-washed genin. He'd sworn after Zabuza that he'd never allow himself to get trapped in such a situation ever again.

Maybe he couldn't in good conscious use Kamui on a brainwashed Kage...but he _could_ use it on something else.

The water.

Kakashi's Sharingan spun to life, and he could feel it morphing at his will, pulling more energy before until his eye strained and began to bleed from the effort of it. In front of him, a vortex began to form. It drew the muddy water inwards like a maelstrom, and in the distance he saw Ogano make a hasty retreat to avoid its influence. With every second more of the water drained, until Kakashi could eventually take a quick gasp of air. And then, with perfect timing, Tenten set off her bombs.

Of course, without the layer of water around to protect him, Kakashi was sent flying with the impact of the explosion. But _Ogano_ was sent flying as well, and the resulting hole in the cave wall was enough to start a good portion of the lake draining. It was less water to deal with all around, less chance of drowning, and less for the enemy Kage to use. Kakashi could only use Kamui once more, however, so he would have to make sure it counted.

It gave the catfish an unexpected advantage, however. Without water to float in, the fish was now floundering about in such a way that it created small quakes that brought down rocks and stalactites around them. Kakashi pushed himself to his feet just in time to avoid getting crushed, and now it was a dance between himself, the enemy, and the terrain around them. Ogano was a quick bastard, but with the water around him drained, the tables began to turn.

Shino entered the battlefield, with a large swarm of kikaichu spreading out from within his sleeves and making a beeline directly for the Kage. Though Ogano spit water bullets to defend himself, the swarm eventually reached him, and from there Kakashi knew it was only a matter of time.

But Ogano, it seemed, wasn't going to go down with a fight.

"Danzo predicted you might prove lucky." Ogano announced with a sneer. "And he told me, should it come down to this, that there was only one thing left that I could do." The man unfolded his jacket, and Kakashi could see even from a distance that his entire body had been _covered_ in paper bombs. Ogano was going to take himself out, and take the entire cave _with_ him. What had Danzo _done_ to the man?

He had no choice. If he wanted to survive, if he wanted to keep these genin alive, he had to use Kamui before Ogano could activate the bombs. He focused, letting his eye shift again and bleed…

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

And then _Gai_ was there, slamming a foot against Ogano's face with all the power and grace of a taijutsu master, knocking the man unconscious. He couldn't activate the bombs in his sleep, which meant they could disarm him and manage him nonlethally. He wasn't sure how Gai had gotten there so quickly but Kakashi could have _kissed_ the man.

He slumped to his knees, the exhaustion from near-drowning and using Kamui finally catching up with his body.

"Sakura." He managed to tell Gai. "We need to help Sakura."

If Danzo had managed to brainwash a Kage so efficiently, what _else_ was he capable of?

* * *

Gaara surrounded Danzo with his sand and crushed with enough force to craft diamonds. Sakura saw the blood ooze from the sandy tomb and saw limbs twitch in death.

And then Danzo appeared behind them and struck again.

She saw Sai land a killing blow, clean, straight through the heart. She saw the light fade from Danzo's eyes, _felt_ his chakra fade.

And then Danzo appeared behind them and struck again.

It _wasn't_ Izanami, Sakura knew he hadn't been misleading them with the name. It was _Izanagi_. No time loop. Just a strange sort of reset every time Danzo took a mortal blow. And it wasn't until Sakura noticed a small detail that she realized for sure that it _had_ to be a Sharingan technique.

One of the eyes on his arm had closed. It made sense. He had clearly gotten several transfusions to replace his lost ones before the battle had begun, so the eyes _had_ to be doing something. She counted twenty three eyes remaining on his arm...but they had landed far more killing blows than that.

She retreated to a corner, counting on Gaara to cover her from Danzo's wind techniques. The man seemed to be toying with them, lazily shooting techniques whenever they came within range. She let Naruto and Sai trade blows with him for now, and instead Sakura focused on his arm.

She saw another eye close. When that happened, she closed her eyes and sent out several pulsing sensory waves.

That same chakra emanating from his arm was almost overwhelming. But all at once, specifically when Naruto drew near enough to land another fatal blow, the energy _changed_.

Sakura began to count.

One. Two. Three.

Danzo reappeared behind Naruto once more and slashed out with a short tanto. Naruto took the blow without even flinching, of course; the Kyuubi's aura was more than enough to heal shallow wounds such as though. Sakura was somewhat envious.

Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen.

Ino managed to land several poisoned senbon in Danzo's arm. She was aiming for the eyes, _smart_, but Danzo simply reappeared elsewhere again, all damage negated. But Sakura could still sense that strange energy…

Thirty two. Thirty three. Thirty four.

Danzo had noticed she was hiding in a corner with her eyes closed. Naturally he'd be suspicious. Several wind jutsu were sent her way, but Gaara came to her side and effortlessly blocked them.

Fifty one. Fifty two. Fifty three.

Danzo lunged for them, only to meet a rather grisly fate on the end of Gaara's sand. It morphed to form a claw on Gaara's arm, and she heard Danzo cough in pain as he was impaled upon it. Two seconds later, he materialized elsewhere.

Fifty nine. Sixty.

The energy stopped.

Sakura opened her eyes and noticed that one more of Danzo's eyes had closed. Ah. So that was it.

She continued to count. Three seconds later, the strange energy activated once more.

That was their window.

"Gaara. Hold your action until I tell you. I need you to be ready to strike the _instant_ I say so."

"...**got it.**" Gaara nodded, his voice one with Shukaku's. "**You've found a weakness?**"

"I've found an opening."

"**Good enough**."

They waited, and thankfully the others served a decent enough distraction. Danzo tried several times to get close to Sakura again, but Naruto would distract him with a roar and a flurry of shadow clones, or else Sai would send a flurry of inked birds his way. Sakura counted the seconds in her head once more, certain that _this_ time it would work.

"_Now_!"

Gaara rushed forward, claw at the ready. Just as the energy faded, Gaara struck...and Danzo dodged.

She saw Gaara's claws graze the side of his strange, white arm, and this time Danzo didn't reappear elsewhere. There was blood, and Danzo staggered as he moved away. Gaara went in for another blow, but at that point his technique had reactivated, and Danzo simply disappeared and reappeared once more.

But the claw mark was still on his arm. The blow had _hit_.

And Danzo, it seemed, had caught on to Sakura's revelation. He suddenly flew through a series of hand signs and put his hand to the ground, and all at once a large creature was summoned next to him. Sakura had never seen anything like it before. It had a long snout like an elephant, but it was stalkier, and with thicker fur. More impressively was the effect it had on wind techniques. It sucked in the air directly in front of it, and then blew with the force of a hurricane. Danzo added his own wind to it, and it was only due to a sand wall created by Gaara that they weren't blown away towards the opposite wall.

"He's figured out that I know!" Sakura yelled over the roaring wind. "He's going to use that summon to make sure we can't attack during the opening!"

"You found an opening?" Ino called out in turn.

"Every Sharingan he has on that arm gives him a minute of invulnerability. He has a three second delay between eyes."

"That's still like half a fucking hour we can't touch him!"

"That's why we have to time it just right."

"Which we can't do because of that summon's assault." Sai deduced. "He doesn't even have to activate that technique until he's certain he needs to, with that tapir keeping us away."

"Then we need to get him to activate it! That's the only way to guarantee that we'll have a three second window. Then we need to get past the summon and then get someone to his arm before he has a chance to activate another one."

"We need that boy with the weird suit. Lee, was it?" They had to strategize quickly now, and thankfully Sai was just as sharp on these matters as she was. "A way to get there quickly. I just…"

"You just what?"

"Wish I'd figured out the Hiraishin. But the seal is too vague, I'm not sure what makes up each part."

"...the Fox knows."

It was Naruto who suddenly spoke up, and there was a slightly distant look in his eyes that Gaara sometimes got when he was listening in on Shukaku. "Um...the Fox knows." Naruto repeated. "Hey, how the _fuck_ does the Fox know about the Hirai-what's it?"

It hit Sakura all at once. Naruto didn't know yet, nobody had _told_ him yet, and she made a note to rectify it if they survived Danzo, but his _father_ was the one who had mastered the Hiraishin to begin with. And not only that, Naruto's mother, the original Jinchuuriki, had been an immigrant from Ushiogakure, a village _known_ for its sealing process. Had Kushina helped the Fourth perfect the technique? If so…

"Of _course_ he would know!" Sakura exclaimed. "I'll explain later Naruto, but right now you need to work with Sai and figure out how to get that working as soon as possible."

"It'll only work if that summon is disabled." Sai pointed out. "The winds are too strong to throw a kunai."

"I can do it." Ino raised a hand. "I can...if I get in its head, I can prevent it from using wind."

"But that's a summon animal, Ino, not a _person_." Sakura protested. "Does your Mind Transfer technique even work on animals."

"It's...not recommended." Ino admitted. "Animals are built differently from people, and it can have bad effects on the mind of the person who possesses one. But we don't have a _choice_ do we?"

"If it's going to damage you, Ino, we have to find another choice!"

"No, Sakura. I promised I was in this until the end. I'm _doing_ it." Ino looked as determined now as she ever could be, and Sakura was reminded of their match in the chuunin exams a year ago. Ino had been ready to take her on, ready to fight her as an equal...a different scenario, but the same determination to _win_.

"...we'll need to hold it down."

"I can do that." Gaara offered. "Sand can hold onto its legs. But the instant I do that, we won't have cover anymore."

"Then I'll just have to hope my own earth wall is strong enough." Sakura concluded. "Naruto, will you be ready to land one of those Rasenshuriken once Sai has his arm off?"

"You know it." Naruto grinned. "Let's take this bastard down. Sai, did what the Fox say make sense?"

"Sort of...the Uzushio method of sealing is very esoteric, but I can translate it into my own style if…" Sai took notes on an empty scroll before he held a hand out to Sakura. "That kunai of yours, can I borrow it? The prongs make it easier to stick into whatever I throw it at. I'll need to make sure it sticks where I throw it long enough to make the transfer."

"Right." Sakura handed it over, and she briefly watched as Sai removed the paper seal around it and began to add his own.

"It's slipshod, but it has a...fifty percent chance of not tearing my body in half."

"_Fifty percent-_"

"Ino said it, didn't she? We're in this to the end. And if it's a chance to take Danzo down...I want that chance." Sai retorted. "Sakura, please...let me have the chance."

She was surrounded by ballsy idiots. But _she_ was a ballsy idiot, so she couldn't really talk.

"Fine. Fifty percent chance it is. I'm ready to put up defenses when you are, Gaara. Ino, make the Mind Transfer count. Sai...don't you _dare_ miss."

They were ready. This was what they'd been fighting for, this chance. They _had_ to take it.

Gaara's sand rushed forward, and at the same time Sakura pressed her hands to the earth and brought forth several walls in front of them, just in time to save Ino from a stray wind blast. Her walls shook with the force, and she knew she couldn't take it for much longer.

"**Ino, go!**" Gaara cried out, and Ino leapt away from the safety of the wall and thrust her arms outward in the signature hand sign of her clan. Naruto caught her body just as she slumped to the floor, shielding her from the tapir's wind. There was a moment where the wind continued to rush...and then everything stilled.

Sakura ran to take Ino's body from Naruto, and Naruto began his assault. For now, Ino had control of the tapir, and with Naruto rushing in to distract Danzo that meant no more wind was headed their way. Sakura sent out pulse after pulse of sensing jutsu, counting down the seconds and hoping she could get the timing right. She whispered the seconds aloud for Sai to hear, and Sai prepared himself. He was a ranged fighter, hitting things from a distance was his strong suit, but Danzo dodging around Naruto was not going to make it easy. Plus, there was the fifty percent chance…

_Don't think about it, don't think about it…_

"Fifty five, fifty six..._go_!"

Sai threw the kunai.

It sailed through the air and landed in Danzo's arm just as the strange chakra began to fade. Sai made a single hand sign, and Sakura saw a brilliant flash of yellow light engulf the cave.

And then Sai appeared in front of Danzo and _sliced_ with his katana, taking Danzo's arm off in one perfect motion. For the briefest of moments, Sakura felt elation. They'd _done_ it, Danzo couldn't use that damn Izanagi technique if he wasn't attached to his arm, and that meant Naruto could _finally_ finish him off…

Then she felt it.

It was a rumble of energy, that strange half earth, half water energy that she'd initially felt before the fight had begun. She saw Danzo's remaining stump _ripple_ as if it was actually water, and then _wood_ shot out, dozens of wood branches that grew and spread outward until several of them impaled Sai through the chest and slammed him against the far cave wall.

Sakura felt her scream freeze in her mouth.

Her feet moved without her thinking, and she only vaguely processed Naruto rushing towards Danzo, the aura of the Kyuubi flaring up in righteous anger as he single-handedly pounded a Rasenshuriken straight into Danzo's chest. She only vaguely processed Danzo's body exploding into tiny shredded pieces, and most certainly didn't process a final pulse of that strange Sharingan energy.

She could only think of Sai, and as she came to a halt at his side the only thing she could process was that _bodies didn't survive that_.

The tree branches faded to dust as Danzo did, and Sakura forced herself not to look at the wounds. She saw Sai cough, and knew there was _blood_, too much blood.

"No, no, Sai, no, don't you _die_, _don't you die_…"

If only _Tsunade_ was here, if only someone that knew medical jutsu was here, but all she could do was pull bandages from her pouch and desperately try to curb the bleeding. Despite all of this, Sai had a smile on his face, a genuine smile that made her _ache_.

"Did you see that...Sakura...I _flew_…"

He was referring to the Hiraishin, and Sakura choked on a laugh as she realized Sai was talking about the technique with his goddamned dying _breath_.

"I'm finally free…"

_No no no no __**no**__..._

He couldn't die, he _couldn't die, he __**couldn't die**_…

She felt the pulsing of his heartbeat, heard the pulsing of her own echoing in her mind, and all she could think of was how she'd give anything to keep him alive, anything, even her _own life_ if that was what it took, Sai deserved so much more than he'd gotten, he deserved to _live_.

And her amulet burned around her neck, burned so hot she was certain that it had to be on fire. And she saw her skin turn back and white, patterns echoing up her arms and across her face. And she felt _pain_, like there were holes burrowing into her chest, like she couldn't _breathe_, she couldn't _move_, and the pain was so intense that she couldn't help but yell, half in anguish, half in _agony_, all she could feel was pain, pain, _pain_…

And the holes in Sai's chest began to close.

And Hidan's voice echoed in her mind, _How can you possibly hope to understand someone fully until you understand the pains they've been through?_

Sai's skin stitched together, and Sai took a confused but powerful breath as life flooded back into his body.

"_And through this understanding you will find joy in the connection…"_

And just as the final wound stitched shut, the pain in Sakura's body ebbed away, and she felt a blissful, overwhelming relief that Sai was alive, alive, _alive_.

And everything faded to black.

* * *

Danzo ran.

His right eye bled, having been spent on a final use of Izanagi, and damn it all it had been _Shisui's_ eye that he'd needed to spend to stay alive, Shisui's damned eye that had allowed him to manipulate his pieces of the board to begin with. There was no replacing the Kotoamatsukami. No replacing _this_ particular eye.

But that damned girl had caught on to Izanagi's trick, and that traitor of an agent had somehow mastered the _Hiraishin_, and everything was…

Everything was falling _apart_.

His only consolation was that his medic had escaped with the final stock of eyes, and if he pulled a couple strings he could almost certainly get Orochimaru to make him a new arm, perhaps a better one. They wouldn't have known he survived, and he'd have time to plan, time to gather his forces again and make sure he hit them where it _hurt_.

He followed the tunnel to its exit into the backwoods behind Konoha proper. There was a meeting point where he was supposed to meet his medic, just about a mile from the city. They could not return to Konoha now. With the Kage free of his technique, there was no winning their civil war. They had to head east, regroup, bolster their numbers yet again.

Danzo stopped as he caught sight of blood. He glimpsed unrolled scrolls on the ground, dropped by his medic...and further out a bloodied corpse. A blue-skinned man wielding a giant sword was standing passively.

"He didn't put up much of a fight." The man commented. "Looks like _you_ did, though. He might not be worth the effort, Itachi."

"...it is worth the effort."

Danzo's head sank into his stomach as he heard a familiar voice. Why was _Itachi_ here? Last he'd heard, Itachi was running errands for Akatsuki, not supposed to be anywhere _near_ here…

"I heard everything Danzo. Everything in that meeting. Everything laid bare. And I saw it all."

Danzo caught sight of several crows gazing at him in the trees, and all of them seemed to reflect Itachi's Sharingan within their eyes.

"You used me. You told me it was the _only way_."

"I-It was!" Danzo protested. "Even now they don't understand, we wouldn't have _survived_ war with the Uchiha!"

"But we would have survived war with you? Konoha would survive _this_?"

Itachi seemed to fade into existence from the shadows, and the cold stare of his Sharingan paralyzed Danzo on the spot.

"You promised to keep Sasuke safe. You couldn't even keep _that_."

"He left of his own accord!"

"You could have stopped him. You had the resources. You know how Orochimaru works. Everything you've said to me has been a lie. Everything you promised. Kisame is right. This world is filled with lies, isn't it?"

Danzo stepped backwards and tripped on a stray root, falling over with a grunt of pain. "I-Itachi, you must see reason-"

"I see more clearly than ever, now. The burden you've given me. The burden you've passed onto my brother, onto this village. You're nothing but a stain. A blight upon Konoha. A plague. And do you know what you do with the source of a plague, Danzo?"

Danzo swallowed. There had to be somewhere he could run, somewhere he could _go_-

"You burn it."

Danzo saw black flames, and began to scream.


	62. Chapter 62

At first Sakura heard voices, echoes around her, bits and pieces as she clung to the edge of consciousness tooth and nail. Everything _hurt_, a deep aching hurt that she'd never felt before in her life. Not even chakra drain had hurt this badly. But despite the hurt, the voices were somehow just as clear.

"You promise there's an exit this way?"

"Danzo wouldn't have put himself somewhere he could not have escaped from."

"And how do we know for sure the bastard's dead?"

"My seal is gone."

Sakura felt warmth around her, warm arms gently holding her close. There was a rush of air around her, a gentle caress compared to the throbbing pain, but the pain was starting to fade to background noise now. Easy to ignore in favor of other things.

She let herself drift away from her own thoughts, from the voices, focusing on that warmth. She could have sworn she heard a heartbeat somewhere...maybe her own? No, it was...too steady to be a heartbeat, it was more a rhythmic thumping that she _knew_ she'd heard somewhere before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where. The thumping was important. The thumping was…

_The thumping was..._

_She saw Konoha, a strange, distorted version of it that_ _seemed to have a red film plastered over it haphazardly, and her lungs burned from having held air within them for so long, and she could walk on her own, damn it all, she didn't know why Gai always insisted upon trying to carry her. What was more important now was finding __**Sakura**__, but the way that Ogano had suddenly woken, as if released from a dream, had made him wonder if maybe she'd gotten Danzo after all…_

_But she was Sakura, wasn't she?_

_And there was thumping, thumping, thumping._

_The world turned even darker red and blurred to the point of difficulty, but even so Sakura could see black flames licking at a small pile of ash and she felt equal parts vindictive and __**lost**__, what did it mean now? What had any of it meant?_

_He'd promised, he'd promised, he'd __**promised**__._

_And the world thump, thump, thumped behind her ears._

_She saw light at the end of a tunnel, and she looked over to see (Brainless) Naruto carrying (Blondie) Ino piggyback, and she knew Sakura would be happy that the two were unscathed._

_(But __**she**_ _was Sakura)_

_And she looked behind to see Gaara carrying…_

_(How could she be there when she was __**here**__?)_

_And the thumping stopped._

And Sakura woke with a desperate gasp, clawing at Gaara's shoulder as she was thrust back into consciousness, and at first she was overcome with such a violent vertigo that she almost heaved onto her friend. The group stopped as she came to, and Gaara hastily set her onto the ground.

"Sakura, it's okay, we're _safe_."

"I was..._Sai_ was…" Sakura tried to pull together thoughts, looking back and forth between her comrades as she tried to figure out how she'd somehow been running with them moments ago, only to be with Gaara _now_. She remembered fighting Danzo, she remembered _burning Danzo_, she remembered Sai being _dead_ but he was…

He was _here_.

Sakura forced herself to take a breath, the initial panic working its way out of her body and replacing itself with an almost agonizing relief. As Sai knelt down to check on her she let herself throw her arms around him. "You were dead." She whispered. "You were…"

Sai said something in turn, probably something cheeky, but Sakura just pulled him in tightly and for a moment refused to let go.

The aftermath of the battle was something of a blur. She felt shaky as she walked, and every now and then her mind would flash back to the _pain_ and the _thumping_, and even though she didn't want to worry her companions she occasionally had to stop and just let the experience pass over her.

Kakashi had fretted over her upon finding her in a way that was surprisingly endearing, despite the fact that he looked about as dead on his feet as she did. It was from him that she eventually learned some of the more important details: the civilians had been successfully evacuated prior to the skirmish, thanks to his friend Tenzo, and though there were shinobi casualties, the quick mobilization of the Kage had prevented too much bloodshed. Not a perfect end to a civil war, but not a bad one either.

Still, that there were any casualties at _all_…

Sakura hadn't _really_ believed they could take down Danzo peacefully, but perhaps as an ambassador she'd hoped.

Managing the aftermath was the job of the Kage, so after Sakura had confirmed that the skirmish was well and truly over, she joined her companions in making their way to the Nara compound, where each of the Konoha rookies, plus one very exhausted looking Team Gai and one very chipper looking Fuu, had gathered under similar mindset.

They'd done it. Somehow, despite everything, they'd _won_.

"Can't believe the mother fucker tried to bring a cave down on us." Kiba was growling to anyone who'd listen. "All his talk of 'the best of Konoha this' and 'for the good of the village that' and he was really ready to just kill a bunch of _clan heirs_ for daring to call him out."

"Wait so...who was Danzo again?" Fuu asked, the most confused of the bunch. "I'd just thought everyone had gone crazy all the sudden. The elders always said the other villages would fight over nothing."

"So what...you just up and decided to _join in_?"

"Hinata was in danger!"

The banter only grew louder as Naruto and Ino joined in, each of them more than willing to complain about 'Danzo's bullshit eye-arm', which reminded Sakura of a very important question: where _had_ Danzo's arm gone? Had it been destroyed along with the rest of his body?

"No." Sai informed her as they sat. "Naruto actually had the foresight to grab the thing while we were fussing over you. He might not be as brainless as I thought." He reached into his back pouch and pulled out a small sealing scroll, handing it to Sakura. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to do with it."

"The eyes deserve some sort of burial, but…" Sakura looked forlornly in the distance, towards the Uchiha compound. "I don't really know Uchiha customs. And someone could just dig them up again if we're not careful."

"Well, eyes tend to rot fairly quickly…though I suppose they hadn't rotted away in that arm."

"That arm." Sakura frowned. "It's got a weird chakra. And when it just turned into a tree like that, I couldn't believe it. What do you think it's made of?"

"I might know, but I won't say it here. My Root seal might be gone but the village might still kill me." Sai shrugged. "Considering we've survived to continue our journey as ambassadors, I should probably try not to make Konoha hate me."

"So...you're staying with us?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Sai blinked. "Don't tell me _you've_ become brainless?"

"N-no, I just…" Sakura flushed, looking away. "Well, now that Root's going to be disbanded, I could probably convince Tsunade to take you back, and you wouldn't have to worry about Danzo trying to take your life. You don't...you don't _have_ to come with."

"You _have_ become brainless."

Sakura flinched as Sai suddenly reached out to gently rap at her forehead with his knuckles, much in the same way Sakura would often get him and Naruto when they argued.

"Don't be stupid, Fisticuffs. We're a team."

And maybe Sakura had known it before, but hearing it for _sure_ now, really _knowing_ that it was true, it brought a warmth to her that finally put her mind at ease. She smiled, reaching out to take Sai's hand, and then reaching to take Gaara's with her other.

For a moment, for even just a little while, with her childhood friends around her and her team at her side, Sakura was _home_.

* * *

"I won't lie to you, Princess. This is a damned _mess_."

Onoki was ever the blunt one, and Sakura couldn't help but smile fondly as her mentor paced back and forth in the meeting room. There was a straight-forwardness to Earth Country folk that she'd missed.

"I know it's a damned mess, it's _my fucking village_." Tsunade grumbled. In front of her, the Kusakage and Tanikage were tied up and sealed with chakra restraints, as well as several of the Suna nobles. Temari was unbound, but only because she had turned at the last minute and refused to fight against Konoha. There were several bound members of Root as well, the 'upper management' now that Danzo had been taken care of.

"No one said pulling 'roots' was easy." Shibuki offered kindly. "If it didn't happen now, it would have destroyed you from the inside or gotten far uglier to deal with in the future."

"We've been through two minor wars in two years, one of which was a _civil_ war. If not for the actions of _children_, Konoha might have been lost to Danzo. And now we face Kumo and Kiri, who are going to _hear_ of this and-"

"And what?" Onoki challenged. "Face four united villages in combat?"

"I'm amazed you'd want to stay in this treatise after all of this." Tsunade blinked in shock.

"Of _course_ I will, I helped _draft_ the damned thing. And considering what Danzo managed to pull on _these_ two idiots…" Onoki gave Ogano a small kick, and Sakura had to suppress a snort. "...I daresay nobody _smart_ is going to hold what he's done against you. For all we know he turned his Sharingan on _you_ at some point."

"The problem, Onoki-sempai, is that most people will not accept that excuse." Sakura offered. "I've seen a bit of it already. Clan heads are searching through Root agents and finding lost members. Shinobi are wondering if their children really died in combat or were just recruited. The majority of the Konoha is questioning...well, not just Tsunade, but all the _previous_ Kage for allowing Danzo to move about unchecked. The Third, the Fourth…Danzo has existed under all their reigns."

"I've heard some of the civilians claiming that the current system isn't _good_ enough." Tsunade groaned. "They're questioning the goddamned system that's been in place since my grandfather, and they're _right_. Hiruzen's sentimental mistakes nearly cost us the village. Danzo cost us an entire _clan_."

"And now all the Kage will be forced to question their own subordinates and what goes on beneath their notice." The Plains leader, Satomi, spoke solemnly. "While shinobi will now question whether their own leaders are in their right minds. We don't know the extent of Danzo's jutsu and we don't know how under those effects these people still are."

"Well, that's just proof of why we need the ambassadors, isn't it?" Sai offered. "After all, it was due to Sakura's determination that we were able to address this situation."

"And Shikamaru's planning." Sakura pointed out. "It was a _joint_ effort. I can't possibly hope to understand the nuances of every village like I understand this one. I'm going to _need_ people on the inside to assist me if I come across a situation like this again. Shikamaru was able to pull together all that evidence because he was _here_ and had _help_. Ambassadors are not always going to be in the village, so-" She froze, letting her thoughts run. That was _it_, that was the key right there! "...so they need _help_."

She clapped her hands together, and at the same time she saw sparks of understanding in the Kages' eyes.

"You're talking about an investigative task force, local to the village, to aid the ambassadors with understanding local situations and how best to handle them." Tsunade offered. "A group who serve both their Kage _and_ the ambassadors in keeping the peace. Shinobi who are loyal to the village but willing to look into the village's faults and improve them."

"You said before that your biggest concern was that the ambassadors wouldn't be in every village all the time to maintain the tenets of the treaty." Onoki pointed out. "A handpicked group that can help do that for you, however, and not have to leave the village proper…"

"It would have to be people I could trust to keep an eye on the village." Sakura added. "I might have to come up with some sort of testing system, or maybe in person interviews. They could give us monthly reports, let us know if a village directly needs ambassador influence…"

"Someone that any village member could go to with concerns. And if the concerns are legitimate, that could lead to an ambassador summon to handle the problem."

"And…" Tsunade got a wicked grin. "I know just who would work for my village."

Sakura blanched when she realized just how violently Shikamaru was going to kill her for this.

It was only a start, and the idea would need ironing out. But having villagers be able to report to her directly…

"It could be civilians too." Sakura thought aloud. "Doesn't have to just be shinobi. In fact, civilians might even be more trustworthy, since they're not necessarily directly tied military activity."

"But civilians don't know the first _thing_ about shinobi life. They can't break out of genjutsu or keep watch on a shinobi moving at five times their speed."

"A bold assumption." Surprisingly, it was Shibuki that spoke up. "Taki civilians are more than capable of keeping tabs on shinobi. The civilian education program includes basic self defense. Doesn't yours?"

The other Kage quieted down at that, and while Sakura was more than ready to get into discussing the merits of civilian influence on shinobi politics, there technically _was_ a more pressing matter at hand.

"Before we get too deep into this…" Sakura looked towards the captives in the center of the room. "We have war prisoners."

"Correct." Onoki smirked. "Some west-side rats need to be dealt with. And Konoha has some dissidents to discipline."

"You'll leave Root to me." Tsunade insisted. "But as for Suna, Kusa, and Tani…"

"I might have been under Danzo's influence before, but I won't make a stupid choice now." Takeshi, the Tanikage, suddenly joined in the conversation. "Resisting your demands now would mean my life and the disruption of my village. We took enough risks today." He looked to Sakura, determined. "I know it will be difficult to trust us, but I ask you allow Tani to sign onto your treaty now. All I want is to take my shinobi home and tend to our wounded."

"Coward." Ogano spat from his seat next to him. "Danzo may have been a manipulative bastard but he had a point. This treaty won't last. Iwa and Konoha look friendly now, but one of them looks at the other funny and suddenly Grass and River are in the middle of another Shinobi World War again."

"You're going to be the only damned village that _hasn't_ signed on this side of the country at this rate." Takeshi countered. "If anything you should be doing it for the economic benefit. The other villages won't trade with River now if you aren't signed on."

"_My_ village is self-sustainable!"

"So you'll refuse, then, Lord Ogano?" Sakura confirmed, raising an eyebrow. "If so, your fate will be left at the hands of the allied leaders, who will vote on how best to deal with you. I will not stop them if they vote for your execution."

"...bah." Ogano frowned. "I hadn't said I wouldn't sign the damn thing. Just that it wouldn't last. I'll take my life and the illusion of peace while it lasts."

Sakura nodded, then turned to Temari. "And Suna?"

"Suna was supposed to be an ally of Konoha." Temari replied. "That we have been manipulated twice against you...it is as much my shame as it is on the elders of my village."

"Some of that shame may be thrust towards Danzo."

"I will carry the burden nonetheless. I ordered the death of my...my brother." She looked towards Gaara, the picture of shame and guilt. "My brother whom was driven from our village due to our treatment of him, of which I played a part. That Suna has survived to have a chance to learn from our mistakes is a blessing. I will sign your treaty and I will discipline my people myself. And…" Temari looked more determined now. "Suna assist Konoha in fixing the damages caused by our invasion. Our shinobi will remain here at your service, Lady Tsunade."

Reparations. It was a decent offer, and Sakura saw a bit of relief pass over Gaara's face. If not for Temari's change of heart, Suna might have fared far worse. Whatever Shikamaru had done to convince her, it had been for the better.

"You're a bit young for a Kage." Onoki commented with a chuckle. "You need to learn to grow a bit of backbone. If you'd been this bold before-"

"Danzo would have brainwashed her with his Sharingan and we'd be even worse off." Sakura pointed out. "I cannot hold any of these villages accountable now knowing what he was capable of. Danzo is dead. Konoha stands. And we now have three new villages agreeing to the neutrality pact. I would suggest keeping these villages under strict surveillance until they leave Konoha's borders, but otherwise my verdict is that they have suffered enough under Danzo's hands. I will not pursue further action unless the other villages insist upon it.

There were no objections, and with that Sakura allowed herself a breath of relief. She'd been dreading the meeting, but it appeared as though the captured Kage had begun to see some sort of reason, even if Ogano was still every bit the shit he was while Danzo had been controlling him.

That just left one village for her to convince that was still within Konoha's borders. A certain Amekage hadn't shown up to this meeting, and Sakura felt a nervous pit in her stomach as she considered why.

Konan had stayed to help _protect_ the city. Where was she now?

As the Kage meeting wound down, Sakura excused herself to attempt to answer those questions, Gaara and Sai leaving with her. They meandered across the rooftops, keeping an eye out for a shock of blue hair or the twinkle of an Ame headband.

They found the Ame shinobi at the gates, and they were not alone. Sakura paused as she caught sight of _Jiraiya_ speaking with Konan, in a somewhat familiar manner.

"Big old Amekage now, Konan? I wouldn't have guessed it of you."

"I could say you taught me well."

"Yeah...maybe not well enough." Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. "I heard what happened to the Ame rebels, you know. I'd wanted to go see if any of you had survived but…"

"Hanzo would not have allowed you across our borders very easily."

"No, he wouldn't have." Jiraiya hesitated before offering Konan a smile. "But I can't say Ame's new leader doesn't bring a smile to my face. You've grown into a hell of a woman, Konan."

Sakura held back, not wanting to intrude on a moment between master and student, but it was Konan who looked towards her and beckoned her over.

"I knew you'd seek me out." Konan told her. "You want to know why I didn't meet with the rest of the Kage."

"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "And I still haven't heard about Ame's stance on my treaty."

Konan closed her eyes, and her smile was somewhat melancholy.

"I cannot sign it, Sakura Haruno."

"You _can't_?" Sakura allowed herself an outburst. "But I would have thought-"

"You have given me a chance to enact revenge on one who has wronged me." Konan continued. "But you know little of my country. Little of the people there, little of how things work. You have been to Iwa, to Suna, to Konoha, to Taki...and you no doubt elbowed Tani and Kusa in, but they have no choice. They cannot afford to say no after losing their invasion so thoroughly. Ame, on the other hand, has no such obligation. Ame has been a middle ground for war for decades. We have been trampled upon by other villages. Beaten down. Why would we ally with those who have thought us beneath them for so long?"

"...protection." Sakura struggled to think of an answer. "I can ensure they _won't_ again-"

"Look me in the eyes, Sakura, and tell me that you think my caution is unwarranted."

Sakura couldn't. Ame's caution was logical.

"Will you at least think on it?" Sakura asked. "Maybe if I gave you time to see what the villages are like under the treaty? If Ame sees that long-term peace can be a reality, that would be a good argument for my cause, wouldn't it?"

"...yes, it would." Konan agreed with a nod. "I cannot guarantee that my people will accept this. But I can guarantee that I will speak highly of you. Perhaps...perhaps with time, you will show them. If not, then Ame has lost nothing."

It was better than a hard no. Sakura had allowed herself to hope, but realistically, Konan was right. She _didn't _know much about Ame, other than a brief interaction with their Kage and three of their genin. Konan seemed reasonable enough that Sakura hoped they wouldn't be actively antagonistic towards her allied countries, so being allowed time to convince them wasn't likely to end badly. And if she used that time wisely, got other countries like Kumo and Kiri to sign on...eventually Ame would _have_ to join them.

She held out a hand to Konan. "I understand. I appreciate that you were willing to hear me out nonetheless, and I would like to thank each of you for your assistance here in Konoha." She made sure to shoot a grateful smile to the three genin nearby. "Your team here are most certainly chuunin material, if my recommendation means anything."

To her surprise, Konan chuckled. "Perhaps it will." She replied. She reached out towards Sakura, but instead of taking her hand in a handshake, she put one hand beneath Sakura's to hold it steady, and held the other just above it. A long piece of paper floated from Konan's sleeve and folded itself into a small paper crane. "Keep this." She told Sakura. "Consider it an Angel's blessing."

Sakura held the crane gently in her hand, thanking Konan as the Ame shinobi turned to leave. Jiraiya came to stand next to her, and they both watched until the shinobi were long out of view.

"Did she tell you much?" Jiraiya finally asked. "About her companions? The ones she lost in the rebellion."

"No." Sakura shook her head. "And I didn't want to pry, I suppose."

"I see." Jiraiya was quiet a moment longer before reaching out to gently ruffle her hair. Sakura let out a bit of an undignified squeak at the gesture. "Don't worry about it, then. You've done a lot of good for Konoha, kid. You should be taking a break. Leave the world to the adults for a bit."

"Because the adults were doing _so_ good." Sakura stuck out her tongue. "There's too much to do, still. I already promised Tsunade I'd help direct some of the damage control, and there's still the matter of discussing Akatsuki with everyone-"

"I mean it, Sakura. Take a break, or I'll have Naruto make you. Don't get burned out. Besides, don't you want to check on your parents?"

"I already _did, _thank you very much. And speaking of." Sakura put her hands on her hips, trying her best to look intimidating. It was hard when addressing Jiraiya; he had at least a _foot_ on her, and that was before taking his tall sandals into account. "When are you going to tell _Naruto_ about his parents?"

She saw Jiraiya blanch at this, and to his credit, he looked guilty at the mention. "It was the Third who insisted on secrecy." Jiraiya explained. "I'd always thought it was silly, but Hiruzen thought if word got out that Naruto was Minato's kid…"

"I'm amazed it hasn't _already_! He's the spitting image." Sakura protested. "Plus, it can't have been much of a secret that the Fourth was smitten with Kushina Uzumaki. If the Third was so intent on keeping secrets, shouldn't he have changed Naruto's _surname?_"

"...yeah, you make a good point." Jiraiya sighed. "I'd actually planned on telling him, at the end of our training journey, but then he had to run back here and start training under Tsunade too. I decided then that I'd wait and see if he made chuunin and then tell him. But...maybe I've just been putting it off."

"Please don't let your nostalgia get in the way." Sakura pleaded. "He _needs_ to know. If you tell him...I'll take a break."

"Making deals now?" Jiraiya smirked, ruffling her hair again. "I guess you're suited to be an ambassador after all. Alright. I'll tell him first chance we get alone."

Sakura would make sure he kept that promise, but for now, Jiraiya was right. She was tired, more tired than she cared to admit after all the work that had gone into taking Danzo down. And even with Root taken care of, she now had more questions than she'd started with. How had she healed Sai? Who was the masked man who had attacked them in the Uchiha compound?

Most importantly...what now?

* * *

For the first time in weeks, Sakura settled into her bedroom and didn't worry about the lives of any of her comrades.

She'd already allowed her parents to dote on her for an evening, both sides equally grateful that the other was unharmed. She and her father had worked together to try and recreate an Iwa stew recipe that Sakura had remembered, and while certain Iwa herbs weren't available in Konoha, she was able to find substitutes that made do. The evening was a relaxing affair, even though her father insisted she regale them with everything that had been going on behind their backs since Sakura had arrived home, and once they had all gotten full bellies from stew, Sakura let herself be dragged upstairs by the boys.

It was then that it truly sunk in that Danzo was dead. Each of them simultaneously slumped down onto the floor, and Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

"Do you think the Kage do this too?" She asked allowed. "After a long battle for their country ends, they come home and throw themselves on the floor?"

"My father would shut himself in his room after a long day." Gaara answered. "But I find it hard to picture him throwing himself to the floor. He wasn't really...emotional."

"Tsunade though." Sakura giggled. "Tsunade would. She'd get a bottle of saké and flop, I guarantee it. And Onoki too, maybe before his back got so bad. Maybe we should make it a tradition. The celebratory flop."

And then Sakura had an idea. She scrambled to her feet, running to her closet and pulling out spare blankets and pillows. It was something she hadn't done since she and Ino were younger, and maybe they were technically a bit old for it now, but Gaara and Sai hadn't gotten _real_ childhoods and celebrating the end of Danzo was more than worth letting themselves act a little childish. "Help me set up!" She told the others.

"What are we setting up?" Gaara asked, though he dutifully took a blanket and began to spread it out.

"Sleepover time." Sakura grinned. "We all pile on the floor and play silly games and tell scary stories until we fall asleep."

"Don't we already sleep in here anyway?" Sai countered. "And Gaara doesn't sleep."

"...right." Sakura paused, then turned to look towards Gaara. "But...your seal is different now. You and Shukaku are kind of like friends now, right? Don't you think he could let you sleep, even just for one night? If we can trust him while you were in Izanami…"

"I...I think I trust him." Gaara agreed. "But I...don't know how to fall asleep. Not without a jutsu."

"If we need to use the jutsu, we will, and I'll wake you up tomorrow." Sakura promised. "But for now, this is a night to have fun!"

She was the only one with pajamas, which was something she'd have to rectify later, but eventually the pillows and blankets were set up, the lights were dimmed, and Sakura began to educate the boys on proper sleepover activities.

Most of the things she and Ino used to do were probably a bit much for Gaara and Sai. They used to spend hours just talking about what sort of kunoichi they would be, what boys were cute and which ones were annoying, or which was better: kunai, shuriken, or senbon. They would do each other's hair and paint each other's nails, and if they were particularly daring they'd play rounds of truth or dare, and _that_ was where Sakura decided to begin.

She made sure that the truths were silly questions at first and the dares even sillier. Sai admitted with some prying that his favorite color was purple, and learned, after daring Gaara to down a spoonful from the bottle of hot sauce that Sakura's parents had downstairs, that Suna food was _usually_ spicy, something Sakura neglected to mention until Gaara had taken the spoonful with a perfectly straight face. Gaara admitted that his most embarrassing moment had been during his time in Iwa, inside the small cave where Roshi and Han had often taken him to meditate. He'd slipped on the damp cave floor, more used to dry sandstone than wet rock, and had fallen into a cave pool. Roshi hadn't been able to stop laughing for over an hour, and after Han had helped him out, even he had let out a small chuckle. And the true highlight of the night was during a dare of Sakura's. Sai had dared her to try and drink a glass of water while doing a handstand, and in the middle of it, Emi jumped into the room and startled her enough for her to dump the entire glass onto her face. All three of them devolved into laughter after that, and between laughs Sakura teasingly scolded the tanuki, who had been missing since the Konoha civil war had started.

"_Now_ she decides to show up." Sakura picked Emi up and cuddled her close. "Where were you when Danzo was trying to kill us, hm? We could have used your sharp little teeth."

It was Gaara who finally realized that Emi was carrying something around her neck. It was a small little scroll on a string, and the symbol on it, a golden leaf, was not one that any of them recognized. Emi allowed Gaara to take it from her, and as Gaara unraveled it, it was revealed as a storage scroll, and within the storage scroll was a large, intricate box.

A puzzle box, as it turned out, and one that Gaara fiddled with and mulled over for a while as the night progressed. The only clue they got as to why or how Emi had gotten the box came from Shukaku, who claimed that it was 'a test for Gaara', and refused to say more. Sakura and Sai each tried to assist, but every time they did, Emi would come and bite at their ankles, first gently, and then _not_ so gently until the two of them got the hint. Whatever this was, it was for Gaara alone, and seeing as Shukaku didn't see any harm in it, Sakura didn't let herself worry.

Eventually, exhaustion caught up with Sakura and Sai both, and they each laid down in the pillow nest. There was a tense moment as Gaara put himself to sleep with a single hand sign, but instead of a fearsome rush of Bijuu chakra, Gaara simply slept. Both Sakura and Sai watched over him for a long while, not only making sure that Shukaku would keep dormant, but also marveling over the sight of it.

"He told me he's only ever slept in battle before." Sakura told Sai in a whisper. "I guess Shukaku's really warmed up to him. Or maybe it was your new seal."

"Maybe." Sai agreed. "And now Emi brought him that box. There's a registry of summon animals in the Root archives. There's only one record of tanuki summons, and it was more legend than actual record. They say the first Suna jinchuuriki could summon them."

"Summons?" Sakura grinned. "Oh, wouldn't that just be so _cool_! I've always dreamed about finding a summon contract, but I know they're usually kept within clans. But I think Gaara deserves it, don't you think?"

"I deserve it more. I'm the one who made the seal better." Sai teased back. "But I suppose I don't have a giant tanuki with me."

"And you can just draw any summon you want." Sakura retorted. "And now you have _Hiraishin_…"

"Not really." Sai shook his head. He reached over to grab one of his scrolls, unrolling it for Sakura to see. "What the Kyuubi told me was rudimentary, meant to do what I needed. He called it a 'simple version', meant for short distance transportation. With these current seals, I still need to be able to see and visualize an area in order for the jutsu to connect. The Fourth could appear somewhere he'd never been before, miles away, and he could do it without risking tearing his body in half in the process. There's a stabilizing factor that the Kyuubi couldn't remember quite right, and it might be linked to one's personal chakra signature…"

"_And_ that sounds like homework for later." Sakura reached over to gently move the scroll away. "We've been up late enough, no need to stay up all night."

"Oh, I'd thought it was equivalent exchange. Gaara gets to sleep, we all stay up the night instead…"

Sakura grabbed a small pillow and thwacked Sai on the arm. "Oh, go to bed, you snarky bastard."

"Fine. But one more question."

"Shoot."

"How did you heal me?"

That, Sakura _wished_ she knew. She remembered _pain_. She remembered the thumping. Remember some sort of power flowing through her. Remembered seeing Sai's wounds just stitch together like they had never existed at all…

"I don't know." She admitted. She glanced towards her amulet, left carefully on a desk nearby. "I have theories, but they're not necessarily good ones. I think it's tied to that amulet. To that weird religion that Akatsuki guy followed, that I met in Plains. Jashinism."

"I remember you mentioning it before." Sai nodded. "But I don't have any knowledge of it. Not even Root had anything, at least as far as I knew."

"I just have one lead. Yugakure. Supposedly that's where other worshippers are, and maybe _they'll_ know."

"It looked familiar to me. It took me a while to put it together." Sai, despite Sakura's protests, pulled out a sketchbook. "Look, this is _you_. How I remember you. Both when you saved me, and during the chuunin exams. These marks here reminded me of something, and it finally hit me the other day exactly what. Have you seen the monument to the First Hokage? The small shrine at the northeast end of Konoha?"

"I went there once when I was in the Academy." Sakura admitted. "That's supposedly where he was buried, though everyone I know secretly agrees that the real burial site is somewhere hidden."

"Right. But that's not all that's there. Do you remember the paintings and tapestries on the walls?"

"Yes. They depict the various events that the First became known for. There's a large one depicting the Warring States Era, one depicting the founding of Konoha…"

"Do you remember the one that showed his battle with Madara Uchiha?"

It took some thinking, but eventually Sakura could piece it together in her head. She could see Madara, expertly depicted as riding on the head of the Kyuubi, Sharingan blazing, gunbai and scythe in hand…

And Hashirama Senju, bringing forests to life behind him, and his face was covered in…

"He had markings." Sakura remembered. "Markings around his eyes and down his face. And two circles on his forehead!" She gasped, looking down at Sai's depiction of her. "Just...just like _my_ markings."

"They call it Sage Mode." Sai explained. "Only a few shinobi have ever harnessed it. It is taught by animal sages, and it is _very_ secretive how it works. What is known is that somehow, the user harnesses the chakra of nature to enhance their body and chakric abilities, and that causes those markings to appear on their body."

"Are you saying I'm somehow activating _Sage Mode_?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "But how would I possibly do that on accident? You said it's taught by animal sages, and I've never been taught, obviously."

"I know. But you can't deny that there's a similarity. Maybe that amulet helps you channel nature energy more easily. Or maybe that particular symbol is a seal of sorts." Sai shrugged. "Either way, we need to find out. You being able to heal my injuries so easily is more than a little useful."

"Yeah, but at what cost?" Sakura shivered. "It..._hurt_, Sai. It was like the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life. It felt like _I_ was the one dying. I blacked out. How useful is that?"

"We're both still here. We're both alive to talk about it."

"Maybe." Sakura agreed. "But I think speculating isn't going to get us anywhere. Yugakure is on my list. We'll go there and find answers, and if I can use it without putting myself out in the process, you know I will."

"Alright." Sai nodded, looking satisfied as he put his sketchbook away. "So long as we have a plan."

"Well, our current plan is to _rest_. No more plans for the next week or so help me I'll tie you to a bed and leave you there."

Sai put up his hands in surrender, and before long the two of them were lost in sleep as well.

* * *

In the week that followed, the invading shinobi from Tani and Kusa were roped into helping with village repairs, and Temari kept her promise to provide Suna assistance as well. There had been some unavoidable collateral damage, as tended to happen when shinobi of Kage level fought, but by the end of the week most of the buildings had been repaired and Konoha was functioning near to what it had been before the fighting had begun.

Though there was much to discuss with the Kage about the future, Sakura let herself focus on repairing Konoha during that week, knowing that with several major villages and multiple Kage within its walls, even Akatsuki wouldn't dare try to attack. But the clock was still ticking, and despite her insistence to Gaara and Sai that they use this time to rest and recuperate, she couldn't even stop _herself_ from mulling over where they went from here.

There were two major villages she needed to persuade to join her treaty, as well as several minor ones, one of which included Otogakure, Orochimaru's home turf. She needed to figure out whatever it was that Yugakure knew about her new and strange abilities. She had to make sure that the villages were primed to defend themselves from Akatsuki. And she needed to do so all while keeping her _own_ jinchuuriki friend safe.

Not to mention the plethora of _other_ issues, such as what to do about _Sasuke_, what to do about the other strange and menacing Uchiha from the compound, what to do _after_ all these goals were managed…

She'd known, in the back of her mind, how demanding a job as an ambassador would be. But she hadn't really felt the _weight_ of it until she realized that solving one problem had just led to a dozen more. Was this what her life was to be like forever? Could she be certain that she could still _handle_ it?

Sakura could only be grateful that she wasn't facing things alone. Her boys were more than welcome to quietly discuss ideas with her every time they retired for the evening, and by the time Konoha had settled down, Sakura was already planning another meeting with several of the Kage to discuss plans.

Tsunade, somehow, managed to beat her to the punch. Sakura was called to the Hokage's office for a meeting to 'discuss Konoha's future', and when she arrived she was surprised to find all of the Konoha rookies there, as well as Team Gai.

"Good. That's the last of you." Tsunade spoke up, looking out from her desk to address them. "So this makes everyone who was involved in the...what did you call it, Naruto?"

"Operation Konoha Revival!" Naruto said with a grin.

"And I want to stress that we _weren't_ involved with this…" Tenten spoke up with a grimace. "We helped in the fight, sure, but that's the extent of it."

"Maybe so, but Kakashi has informed me that you provided valuable backup, and your instructor has also given me the highest recommendations of your skills and abilities. Everyone here who is under my jurisdiction and at genin level, I have brought you here to commend you for your work in uncovering Danzo's activities, and for helping to bring him to justice. On top of that, I can say that each of your teams performed admirably in the chuunin exams."

With that, Tsunade unrolled a scroll on her desk, and with a puff of smoke revealed nine chuunin vests. "I think the village might riot if I didn't allow your promotions." She continued. "Each of you have served your village above and beyond chuunin level. Congratulations."

Naruto was the first to respond, letting out a whoop of excitement as he rushed to grab his vest. It didn't take long for the others to move as well, and the room became a bustling of laughter and cheers as everyone pulled on their vests. It was touching to watch, though it made Sakura wonder why _her_ team had been pulled in to watch. Had Tsunade just wanted her to be present for her friends' success?

"Settle down, everyone, settle down!" Tsunade called out. "I'm not done yet so hold your celebrating for later. We have a couple other business matters to attend to. Shikamaru, get up here, you're next."

"Next?" Shikamaru questioned, but as he made to step forward his eyes suddenly widened. "No. No, no, no, you are _not-_"

"The village council voted on it, Shikamaru. You're the one who kept this group in line, Sakura more than recommended your abilities, and it is _well_ known that you organized the evidence to use in Danzo's trial. By rather _popular_ demand, you have been promoted to jounin rank."

"No, this is _such_ a _drag_, I'll _never_ be able to get any peace now!" Shikamaru moaned.

"Oh, come on, Shika, this is _great_!" Ino insisted, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "That means you'll be able to lead the team on missions now, just like Asuma wanted!"

"_Asuma _wanted this?"

Shikamaru looked equal parts confused and distraught over the news of his promotion, and if Sakura was honest she felt a little bad for the boy. She knew promotions could be turned down, so if he was _really_ against it she knew it wouldn't stick. But Shikamaru really only seemed to be protesting the new responsibilities that the rank entailed, and not necessarily the promotion itself. She'd have to tell him that she knew plenty of lazy jounin; she couldn't remember a time that Kakashi hadn't been _late_ to any of Team Seven's activities, and yet he was one of the strongest shinobi she knew.

But her thoughts were distracted as Tsunade spoke up again, this time pulling out another scroll as she did so.

"This last piece of business was actually a joint effort, agreed upon by the Kage, for Sakura, Gaara, and Sai. We agreed that it might be helpful to your cause if there was an easy way to identify ambassadors, and we also agreed it might serve you well if this identification was similar to our own methods of identification."

There was another puff of smoke, and the scroll revealed three objects: headbands. But engraved on the metal was not a symbol of any village Sakura knew. Instead, a single circle was engraved, matching the circle that Sakura wore on her back. She felt her breath hitch in her throat as she realized.

"Onoki made them himself." Tsunade explained. "He and Shibuki both agreed that your little circle would be a good starting symbol. Something about simplicity and unity."

Sakura reached out to take the one in the middle, that had been made with a deep red leather to match her attire. Onoki knew her well, and had guessed well for the boys: the remaining two had leathers of dark brown and black respectively. She reached up to tie her headband around her head, on top of Ino's ribbon, which she was reluctant to let go of just yet. Gaara let his hand on one of the straps holding his sand scroll to his back, and Sai placed his at the more traditional spot over his forehead. Sakura grinned.

"They're perfect Tsunade. Thank you."

"Good. Now you three stick around. The rest of you, go celebrate your promotions. I'm requesting a bonus stipend be allocated to all of you for your troubles, so consider your dinner on me tonight."

There was more cheering, the biggest coming from Chouji this time, and Sakura wished she could join them. But Tsunade grew more serious as the others left, and she knew this was a conversation she couldn't avoid.

"Sakura, I am under the impression that you will be dealing with two things in the immediate future that concern me."

"Probably more than that, if I'm honest."

"I'm referring to your future dealings with Otogakure. Your future dealings with Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha."

"...oh."

Sakura sat herself down, knowing this conversation might last a while. Tsunade folded her arms and leaned back in her chair.

"You told me before that you retrieved Danzo's arm."

"That is correct. Will Konoha be demanding that we surrender it?"

"Most of Konoha is." Tsunade answered. "But I spoke against it. That arm and its assets belong to the Uchiha, and unfortunately both of our Uchiha are technically village traitors. However, of those two, one helped perpetuate the Uchiha massacre, and the other is a victim of it. Thus, I've concluded that the arm should now belong to Sasuke."

Sakura let out a hiss of air at this. "Do you really think Sasuke is going to want a reminder of what _Konoha_ let happen to his clan? I've already wondered how badly he's going to react to the news that Danzo _planned_ it."

"No, I don't think he wants it." Tsunade agreed. "But maybe that's for the better. There are _many_ people who want this arm, Sakura. I trust an Uchiha survivor to use the bloody inheritance of his clan more so than I trust anyone else."

"You'd be bringing the arm directly within range of Orochimaru." Sai countered. "Who would be _more_ than happy for the donation."

"I wasn't saying to give it to him now. In fact, unless you think the situation is changing, I would advise you to wait. Wait until Orochimaru has either succeeded or failed in taking over his body. Wait until Sasuke is in a position where he is strong enough to defend it. If that means you hold onto the scroll for the next two years, so be it. What I am saying is that I am trusting you to do what is right with it, and my belief is that the arm should return to the Uchiha clan."

It was better than haphazardly burying it, and it was better than leaving it in the hands of someone who could potentially be the next Danzo. Sakura couldn't find an argument against it. Regardless of what Sasuke's current state of mind was...he _was_ the Uchiha clan now. And Tsunade was right. The eyes belonged to him.

"I'll do as you ask. When the time is right, Sasuke will receive it."

"I'm glad we agree. Now, onto the more pressing matter. Orochimaru." Tsunade leaned forward, meeting Sakura's eyes. "Are you _seriously_ planning on trying to persuade him to sign the treaty?"

"I have to, don't I?" Sakura replied. "To show bias here would be damning against my cause. Orochimaru leads a hidden village. He's a Kage. I have no choice but to try and persuade him."

"You're being stupidly honorable, but I get it. But are you sure you're prepared to speak with Orochimaru on his level?"

"...no." Sakura admitted. "Quite frankly, he terrifies me. When I last saw him, it was the last chuunin exams, and he was...he was _hurting_ my team. He invaded Konoha. He...he _killed_ the Third and tried to kill you."

"That he did." Tsunade nodded. "He's a scary son of a bitch. Denying that is foolish. Going in to try and persuade him to do anything is even more foolish. He won't just listen to pretty words. He's going to want something. He's going to demand you give something in return, and it may not be something you want to give."

"The arm, maybe."

"If not something worse. But I grew up with him. I know how he thinks. I know most of his repertoire of techniques. And I want to guarantee, if things go wrong, that you're ready to face him."

Tsunade suddenly grinned.

"So, for the next week, I am going to drill you on Orochimaru, and I am going to make sure you are thoroughly capable of kicking his ass if he tries anything funny. I know I can't keep you for long, but I can make sure that you and yours are ready. It's the least I can do for what you've done for Konoha. Does that sound good to you?"

Sakura couldn't help but grin in return. It was an avenue she hadn't considered. Tsunade, and even Jiraiya as well, they had been his _teammates_. Who better to go for on advice for handling the Snake Sannin than them?

"When do we start?"


	63. Chapter 63

Sakura was given one day to listen to Tsunade and Jiraiya talk about Orochimaru and take notes. She was given a run down of everything the Sannin could remember: abilities, jutsu, physical prowess, weapon proficiency, summoning animals, even tidbits on Kabuto from their spar with him almost a year ago. But not just fighting prowess, no, they went into his _personality _as well. How Orochimaru thought, how he approached a situation, what strategies he tended to employ, even something as simple as what _food_ he preferred, which Sakura had never cared to think about but now she _knew_. (And it was admittedly a bit hilarious that the shinobi known for being able to swallow any object he got his hands on preferred foods he could take in large bites: sashimi, in particular, was one they remembered him indulging in often. Sakura wondered if Orochimaru had atrocious table manners...and hated how much the thought humanized him.)

After the one day, Tsunade told her to memorize everything they had gone over, which was fairly easy for Sakura. She expected some sort of test for Tsunade to confirm that she'd taken in everything she'd learned.

She didn't expect Tsunade coming at her with the full force of a raging bull, demanding that she both dodge her technique _and_ recite information about Orochimaru that Jiraiya shouted from the sidelines.

"What's the name of his largest snake summon?"

Sakura cursed out loud as one of Tsunade's punches broke a tree next to her, wood splinters cutting into her skin as she desperately tried to avoid the next blow.

"I'm pretty sure his name wasn't "Fuck" the last time I checked!"

"M-Manda!" Sakura forced herself to call out, ducking low as Tsunade swung a kick towards her face. She wasn't supposed to attack back, only dodge, but it was still difficult just to do that. And Sakura got the feeling that Tsunade was holding _back_.

Jiraiya was getting a major kick out of this, of course, but _Naruto_ was as well. Tsunade had apparently trained him similarly before the chuunin exams, and Naruto told her that being able to see someone else dodging Tsunade's massive blows was vindicating.

Gaara looked almost constipated as he tried to hold his sand back from rushing around Sakura. No point in dodge practice if Gaara was just protecting her the entire time. And Sai, of course, was sketching the whole affair, and every time Tsunade landed a hit, Sai recreated the whole affair to tease Sakura with later.

Sakura swore she was going to learn Tsunade's technique one day and see how _he_ liked it.

"What's his dominant hand?"

"Neither!" Sakura wheezed. "He uses both equally to prevent weakness!"

And then she slipped, and Tsunade's fist was headed straight for her face, but instead of feeling a bone-breaking punch, Tsunade shifted at the last moment and flicked her on the forehead. The force was still enough to knock Sakura backwards and onto the ground, but nothing was broken. Maybe some bruises, _definitely_ some bruises on Sakura's ego. Maybe she'd trained under Onoki in Iwa taijutsu, but Onoki had always been defensive, encouraging Sakura to learn the confidence to attack and push forward in a fight. Learning to be _defensive_ was another feat entirely, especially when she couldn't block any of Tsunade's attacks without risking her arm getting broken. She was nowhere near Kage level of skill yet.

And Naruto had been doing this _daily_ before the chuunin exams had begun.

Of course, Naruto had Kyuubi-enhanced stamina and had been dodging angry shinobi since he could do pranks. So maybe the comparison wasn't the greatest.

"You're done for the day." Tsunade told her. "We'll work on improving your passive reaction time. You won't be able to think strategy in a fight if you're also thinking about dodging."

"That's what _Gaara's_ for." Sakura retorted, her voice a bit squeaky as she tried to catch her breath.

"And when Gaara is otherwise occupied? What if you're separated?"

Sakura just groaned in response. Tsunade was right, of course, and there really wasn't any downside to training her reaction time. But that didn't mean it didn't _suck_.

She barely remembered the walk home, and only just remembered the sight of a couch before she threw herself face first into it and let the blessing of sleep overtake her.

She woke to Sai gently pushing at her shoulder, her body still sore from training and her eyes stubbornly refusing to open. Sleep was good, sleep was life...that was, until Sai informed her that Naruto was waiting at the door and was asking for her and her alone.

Naruto didn't look himself. He was quiet, which was really the first sign that something was wrong, and he was uncharacteristically nervous as he asked her to join him for dinner. Sakura was expecting Ichiraku, but was surprised when Naruto took a different turn and led her to his apartment instead.

It had been cleaned up since the last time she'd seen it. Sakura noticed several houseplants sitting at his windowsill, looking well watered and groomed. Instead of empty boxes of ramen scattered about in his kitchen, she saw a clean stack of dishes and what looked to be a rack full of spices, most of which held the Akimichi label. There was new furniture: instead of a dingy dinner table and mismatched chairs, Naruto had acquired a matching dining set, and sitting in the middle of the table was a cut of fresh flowers that were no doubt from the Yamanaka shop. Naruto hadn't taken kunoichi classes, so Sakura was fairly certain he'd missed the double meaning of the flowers Ino had chosen to grace him with. (White camellias front and center...Ino had never been particularly subtle.) It looked pleasantly homey, and Sakura couldn't help but smile. Team Ten...they'd given Naruto what she and Sasuke hadn't. A sense of camaraderie, even at home.

And manners, by the look of things, as Naruto immediately went to put together a kettle of tea. Sakura let herself sit at the table and waited. Naruto would talk when he was ready.

"...Jiraiya finally told me everything."

She'd figured that was the root of the matter. Jiraiya had promised her, after all, and she'd sworn to herself if Jiraiya hadn't told Naruto who his parents were, she would.

"So...how do you feel?"

"I dunno. It's been kind of weird." Naruto chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, I think I kind of felt _everything_ when he told me. The Fourth being my father, I mean he's been my hero for as long as I can remember. It should be awesome that I'm his son, shouldn't it? But…" Naruto looked back towards the tea, his solemn attitude from before returning. "In a way I'm kind of upset. He put the Kyuubi into me, and I get he had to do _something_ to stop him from rampaging, but...why me? My mother was the previous host, and she was put through so much for it. Why put _me_ through that too? All the hateful eyes, all the words spat at my face when I was old enough to understand them…"

"He wasn't stupid. He probably knew." Sakura answered quietly. "He was probably thinking...he could put the Kyuubi into a random child and they would suffer and maybe they couldn't handle it. Maybe they'd end up like Gaara was. Alone, scared, weak...but maybe he thought his child would be strong enough to handle it, like Kushina was."

"Maybe." Naruto nodded. "But I think I'm still...Jiraiya said it was okay to be confused. They kept it from me for so long and I think...I think I'm upset with everyone _else_, too. They said it was to keep me safe. I think I would have rather been in danger and _known_."

"I can understand that."

Sakura didn't really know how she'd react if she was in Naruto's shoes. She'd always known her parents, always known that she would have a loving family to come home to. To feel scorn every day from everyone around you, to feel unwanted and unloved because of a burden you didn't choose to carry...Sakura didn't know how anyone could inflict that fate on any child, let alone their own.

But she wasn't the Fourth, and she hadn't been there. Maybe things had been desperate. Maybe things had been inevitable.

Naruto sat a hot cup of tea in front of her before sitting across from her at the table. "I don't mean to be a mope." He began. "I think everyone's used to me being optimistic. I think..._I'm_ used to me being optimistic. It's easy to just believe that if you keep moving forward, everything will turn out alright. It's easy to try and think the best of people regardless of what they've done. I don't hate the Old Man for keeping things from me. I don't hate Tsunade or Pervy Sage. They were doing what they thought was right, even if I don't agree with them. And I think, in a weird way, it helped me realize something."

"Oh?"

"I don't hate Sasuke either."

Sakura's smile turned soft. "Well, of _course_ you don't, Naruto."

"I think everyone else did, though." Naruto admitted. "Because of Sasuke leaving, Neji and Chouji got hurt real bad. They could have died. I...I could have died, too, if things had gone just a little bit differently. I hadn't really thought about it until I started working with Team Ten. They were wary of me, at first, like they thought just 'cause I was around that things might go bad again. And it wasn't because of the Fox. It was because they were thinking about what Sasuke did, in leaving. The village talks about him too, you know. Sasuke used to be 'the Last Uchiha'." Naruto did a dramatic wave of his hand at the title. "And now he's just...the traitor."

"His actions had consequences." Sakura agreed. "For the village, they didn't see _Sasuke_. They saw the loss of an asset. They saw someone abandoning their home for a murderer."

"Just like they saw me as a weapon."

"...yeah."

"But I don't hate him for leaving. I didn't before now. He was my friend. Nobody else saw him like that. Maybe if they'd seen _him_, he wouldn't have left. Maybe if the village stopped seeing shinobi as tools, we wouldn't be like this. _Danzo_ wouldn't have been like this. Maybe...maybe _Haku_ wouldn't have died."

Haku. Now that was a name that brought her back. Sakura hadn't thought of the Land of Waves in some time.

"You made a promise then, didn't you? That you'd _change_ things."

"Yeah. And I will."

Naruto looked her in the eyes, and Sakura saw the spark again. The spark of when Naruto promised something and _meant_ it. But there was something more to it now, a maturity that hadn't been there before.

"I didn't get it. Sasuke was right. I should have, but I didn't see it then. I can't _just_ be a Hokage anymore, Sakura, I have to be a Hokage that makes things _right_. I have to be a Hokage that makes it so the village doesn't see shinobi as tools or weapons. I have to be _different_ than all the other Hokage before me, not just better. I gotta...I gotta be like _you_!"

Sakura blinked at this. Like her? "You mean, like the neutrality pact?"

"Exactly! When you left the village, you did so because you wanted to make things _better_! And you didn't care who tried to stop you or what the village would think of you, you just went! And maybe the village thought you were a traitor before now, but then you came back and you and Shika just took on _everything_!"

Sakura laughed nervously. "Well it's not so glamorous as that, Naruto. I was scared out of my wits when I left, and I'd always intended to come back before Onoki got to me. It wasn't really noble, Naruto, if anything it was selfish. I didn't want to be left behind anymore. If anything I'm...I'm just _like_ Sasuke. I just happened to leave in a way that ended up benefitting the village, and even then…" Sakura thought of the battle reparations, of everything Tsunade now had to shoulder with the absence of Root. "It's been _rough_, Naruto."

"I mean, hasn't it always been?"

Sakura's laugh was more genuine this time. "Yes, I guess so."

"Besides, it doesn't matter because you're doing the right thing _now_. And I'm gonna too. One day, I want to be a Hokage that can be proud to sign your pact. I want to be the Hokage of a village that takes pride in their people and looks after them. I want to be Hokage of a village where nobody ever _wants_ to leave!"

Then Naruto finally grinned, and it was like a fog had been lifted over the room. "Yeah, that's exactly what I want!" He continued. "And I guess I just wanted you to know that, Sakura. And I was hoping, if you meet Sasuke again, that you could tell him that for me, and maybe tell him that it's okay if he doesn't want to come home, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to make the village something he'd want to come home to anyway. Somewhere that doesn't have people who talk about killing clans just because they want their eyes, you know?"

"I do." Sakura smiled in turn. "I really do, Naruto. And I think...I think you're going to be the _best_ Hokage there's ever been."

"You know I will!" Naruto insisted. "And don't you forget it! You tell all the other Kage that they better step things up, otherwise I'm going to leave them all in the dust one day with how great I make the village!"

It was refreshing to see Naruto cheery again, and there was something that had been eating away at Sakura that had cleared with his confession. Deep down, under the weight of Danzo and Akatsuki and uniting the shinobi countries, she'd always carried an even heavier weight, the weight of a promise to bring Sasuke home.

But Naruto was right. After all this, after what Danzo had done...she couldn't hold it against Sasuke for leaving the village that treated his clan like disposable tools. Maybe she still needed to speak with him, but she no longer had the pressure of _convincing_ him.

Ino was right. Naruto just had a way of making everything seem like it would be okay again.

They chatted well into the night, talking about everything they had missed while they were apart and everything that was to come. Sakura promised Naruto that they'd get a chance to spar the next time she returned to Konoha, and in return Naruto promised her that he'd write every month she was away. (Sakura considered it 'staying in touch with the future Sixth Hokage').

It was, in a weird sort of way, their goodbye. But unlike the last time they had parted, it wasn't bittersweet.

* * *

By the time a week had passed, Sakura was exhausted and absolutely positive she could spout facts about Orochimaru in her sleep. When she wasn't spouting facts, her dreams were filled with anxious visages of Tsunade's fists coming at her with terrible speed.

It might not have been the most orthodox method of training, but in a way Sakura was grateful for it. Even a week's time under Tsunade's guidance had helped her see weaknesses in her own fighting style, and forced her to learn methods of dodging to combat those weaknesses. Her mind adjusted quickly enough, and by the final day Sakura wasn't just reciting facts about Orochimaru, but facts about the rest of Akatsuki as well in rapidfire succession.

Around her, things had calmed down considerably. With the village reparations finished, Sakura was allowed to call one final meeting of the Kage, getting official signatures from Tani and Kusa on her pact and conveying everything she knew about Akatsuki and the threat they posed. There were several suggestions thrown about, including a quarantine of the Jinchuuriki in a protected area, but that idea was shut down quickly by Taki, who relied on Fuu to help mitigate the flow of 'demons' into their country. The villages compromised on a less extreme option: a collaborative information gathering effort that would attempt to locate and track each member of Akatsuki as well as ascertain their skill sets. Sakura would be a part of the effort by virtue of her traveling and gathering information anyway, and they would use Konoha's hawks to coordinate who was tracking which and to share anything new that was discovered.

An expedition into the Mountain's Graveyard, though proposed, was turned down for the moment. Konoha was too fresh from the battle with Danzo, and considering expeditions there had gone poorly in the past, no one was quite ready to try again. Maybe in the future, if all the villages were allied under Sakura's pact, but not before, which meant the mystery of the 'demons' would remain a mystery a little longer.

Sakura passively packed and planned. Sai was able to craft massive sealing scrolls, which meant she could afford to take more with her from home. Her parents would always welcome them, that much was abundantly clear, but Sakura had to face the truth: Konoha couldn't be her home anymore. One day she would find a place to settle down, where the shinobi ambassadors could live separate from any village's influence, but for now they were wanderers. She packed every article of clothing she'd ever owned, she packed her entire bookshelf of basic shinobi texts she'd studied at the Academy, and she packed all the non-perishable food she could afford to splurge on. Her team was decent enough at survival at this point, but she refused to take her chances.

There was a question of money and what the ambassadors would do to obtain it, and for now it was decided that they would simply take up odd jobs when they could and hope that other countries would be charitable hosts otherwise. Shinobi mercenaries made just as much of a living as village shinobi, and until their group of ambassadors was big enough to integrate into the world economy, they'd simply take things day by day as most others did.

Eventually, they reached a point where they couldn't draw out the inevitable any longer. Sakura announced to everyone she knew that the next day, they would be leaving Konoha to continue their journey.

* * *

It was only natural that Kakashi sought her out before then. She hadn't seen much of him since the village reparations had begun, and Sakura had an inkling that part of it had to do with Kakashi getting roped into the rehabilitation of Root, alongside that other strange man, Tenzo. Both had been a part of Root at some point, and thus were able to provide a personal touch in helping bring many of the agents back into Konoha proper. The few times Sakura had seen him, she had seen a couple of younger agents following him like ducklings, much to the older shinobi's chagrin.

There were no ducklings when he came to her, however. Sakura had retired to her parent's home for the evening and had gone to the rooftops to stargaze with Gaara when Kakashi had appeared in a quiet puff of smoke. Gaara scooted to another corner of the roof to allow the two a moment to talk.

"Yo." Kakashi began.

"Yo." Sakura answered.

"You're leaving tomorrow."

"Yup."

"I can't come with you this time."

"I know." Sakura let out a small sigh at the thought. It had been somewhat comforting to have Kakashi with them, but she'd always known at some point they'd have to part ways. Kakashi was, through and through, a loyal Konoha shinobi.

She suddenly felt a weight on her head as Kakashi rested a hand on it. "Here I am, watching my cute student leave the nest for good. I don't know if my heart can take it."

"You know I'll be back!" Sakura insisted with a pout. "It's not like it's going to be the last time you'll see me."

And then they were both quiet, because there was something unspoken in the words there. They _didn't_ know. With Akatsuki hunting Jinchuuriki, with Orochimaru, and even with the uncertainty of how Sakura would be received in other villages, there was no guarantee that Sakura would be alive a month from now, even a week.

"You could write to me." Sakura suggested suddenly. "If you're so worried about your cute student."

"Maa, do I seem like the letter writing type?"

"No, but I was kind of hoping I could squeeze at least one out of you. Everyone else promised."

"Ah, emotional manipulation. Kunoichi tactics for beginners." Kakashi chuckled. "I suppose I could send a word or two on occasion."

Sakura grinned at that.

But it was hard to keep the cheer. She'd _needed_ to talk to Kakashi for a while now, and this was a subject that she hadn't really been quite sure how to breach. Sakura decided to take a leaf out of Sai's book and dive in without any transition.

"There's another Uchiha in Akatsuki."

She saw Kakashi freeze up at that mention. "I've told Tsunade a bit of what I know." Sakura continued with a sigh. "As well as the other Kage, but I've tried to keep mention of it quiet because I'm...not quite sure what to think. When Shikamaru and I were investigating the Uchiha compound…"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"Tsunade pretended too." Sakura stuck out her tongue. "But while we were there, we were approached by a man in a mask. He had a Sharingan. And at one point, when I got the mask off him, I got to see...he only had _one_ Sharingan."

She could almost see the confusion and fear in Kakashi's eyes. He knew why she was bringing it up with him. He knew what she was implying.

"...only one?"

"His right eye." Sakura pointed. "And that side of his face was...it was distorted, like...like his skin was _strange_ somehow, like it had been crushed and then molded back toge-"

Kakashi suddenly stood, and for a moment Sakura was convinced he was going to leave. Kakashi looked as though he wanted to run away. She'd never seen her sensei distraught before but there was no other word for what he was showing now.

"You're absolutely certain?"

"Shikamaru can verify."

"It shouldn't be _possible_...but _why_?"

"I don't know." Sakura admitted. "He referred to me as 'Kakashi's student', sensei, like it was important to him that I was named as _that_."

Kakashi began to pace, and Sakura had to stop herself from saying more right away. It was a massive bomb to drop on someone, the knowledge that an old teammate might be _alive_ and might be with the _enemy_.

"...he claimed he wanted a world of peace. He tried to recruit me. He said he wanted to end war and stop suffering. Whatever it is Akatsuki's doing, he thinks it's _right_." She decided to leave out the part where he'd tried to kill her and Shikamaru. Sakura got the feeling Kakashi didn't need to hear the bad details right now. "He might not necessarily be an enemy."

"If he comes for Naruto he will be. If he hurts you, he will be."

"Sensei-"

"I haven't seen Obito Uchiha in over a decade." Kakashi interrupted. "I don't think...I don't _see_ how it could be possible. But if it is, and if he comes for my students, I won't let my grief hold me back."

"I know." Sakura nodded. "You've always said you'd keep us safe, sensei, and I know you mean it. But if there's a chance it could be him, I just wanted you to be prepared."

"...thank you, Sakura."

They were quiet for a while. Sakura wasn't sure what else to say that wouldn't hurt him further. She'd never known Obito Uchiha of course, but it was clear what the man had meant to Kakashi. An Uchiha didn't just give a Sharingan eye to anyone. There was a bond there, a bond that might need to be broken.

Kakashi left the rooftop eventually. Sakura knew she'd see him again before they left. After learning something like that, anyone would need space. Even she felt cold and depressed after such a conversation with her sensei.

However, she certainly didn't complain when Gaara came to sit close to her again, putting a gentle hand over hers. At some point the boy had begun to learn how to comfort her, and Sakura couldn't help but smile as she noticed him picking up subtle gestures that she had begun with him when they had first traveled together.

Whatever the masked Uchiha had been, regardless of what came after, she had her team. Even if Kakashi wasn't there, Sakura would never be alone.

* * *

Sakura stood at the gates of Konoha and several dozen others stood with her.

Her parents, her fellow graduates, her sensei, even Tsunade and Jiraiya had come to see her off. She reiterated promises to her friends that she would write, that she would visit again, that she would do her damndest to keep herself and her boys alive. She exchanged hugs and fond farewells. She even coerced a hug out of the still somewhat broody Kakashi, whispering him a promise all the while that she'd find the truth.

Naruto followed them out the gates, pulling out one more promise from Sakura.

Find a way to keep Sasuke safe.

She wasn't sure she could keep it, but Sakura gave Naruto a thumbs up anyway.

"It's the promise of a lifetime."

Naruto had laughed, and as Sakura made her way down the road away from her old home, he waited at the gates the longest, waving at them until they were too far away to see.

* * *

"So, where next?"

The road Sakura had steered them upon headed northeast. The main path would take them to the far north, towards Kumogakure. Sakura unfolded her map in front of her, tracing routes as they walked.

Kumogakure was on the list, of course, as was Otogakure. But there was one place that Sakura wanted to visit before either of those. One place that was too important to put off anymore.

"Yugakure." Sakura announced.

"Yu?"

"Yup. It's time we figured out who the hell Jashin is."


	64. Chapter 64

It sprinkled rain as they moved further north, dusting the trees with dew and misting the air in a way that caused the ends of Sakura's hair to curl. This time, she'd remembered to pack umbrellas for the three of them, though Gaara still preferred to let his sand curl above him in a vague umbrella shape. It sometimes rained in Konoha during the fall, but it seemed as though northern Fire Country was far more humid.

They stuck to the roads at first before meandering off, at first following the time-honored logic of 'not wanting to get lost', before eventually coming to the conclusion that if people saw them on the roads, word might spread, and if Akatsuki heard they were heading north that might lead to them being followed. It was with a bit of reluctance that Sakura left the roads; traveling through the thick of the woods was rough on her legs, and there were bugs in the humid north that picked through her clothes and left welts on her skin. A price to pay for travel anonymity, one that she didn't _mind_ paying, but definitely one she could gripe about.

Still, there was an odd peace that settled upon their days. They were on a time limit, sure, but that time limit was more in the span of months rather than days or weeks. She wanted to reach Oto before Orochimaru could possess Sasuke's body. She wanted to reach the larger shinobi nations before Akatsuki had a chance to try and attack their Jinchuuriki. But reaching places took time, and at the very least Sakura knew she had at least a year and a half, if not more, before Orochimaru could even try to take Sasuke. She didn't know Akatsuki's timeline, but considering it had been a year since Itachi had first approached Naruto, it could be assumed that they weren't rushed, simply biding their time for an opportunity. There were newer implications that Itachi might not be quite as loyal to Akatsuki as she'd originally thought, judging by the fact that Itachi had been ordered to kill his clan and hadn't simply snapped, but Sakura had yet to determine if Itachi had simply been loyal to Danzo or...well, it was an iffy situation no matter how you looked at it. Sakura couldn't justify slaughtering a clan to stop a civil war, she just _couldn't_, and maybe it was naive of her but all Sakura could think of regarding the Uchiha was that _something_ could have been done better to stop it.

So no, she didn't know where Itachi stood. She didn't know enough. But she did know that the nations under her pact were sufficiently warned regarding Akatsuki, and while she didn't know the full spread of shinobi in the organization, she doubted even nine S-ranked deserters could take on the full might of a village...could they?

Itachi took out an entire _clan_, but Onoki had fought _Madara_ and lived to tell of it, and he had been more than eager to spread his strategies now that both living Uchiha were considered missing-nin. (Tsunade had also healed the damage caused by Itachi's genjutsu, which seemed to suggest she could heal herself if the need arose.) Hidan seemed immortal, but he'd also seemed incapable of functioning with his head removed. Kakuzu was a wild card, seeing as he was old enough to be her great grandfather and still was spry enough to be part of Akatsuki, but Shibuki had theories and had promised to inform both her and the other Kage once his theories solidified. Kisame had a sword that ate chakra, but Jiraiya had scared him off easily enough when he'd come for Naruto. And that left the weird Zetsu demon and the masked Sharingan user from the Uchiha complex, whom Sakura was becoming more and more convinced might be her sensei's long lost teammate…

If the Zetsu was anything like the other demons, dealing with him would be a cakewalk. As for the masked Uchiha, teleportation was a bitch to deal with, but the more people around, the harder it was to use that ability to gain tactical advantage. Sakura had landed a good hit on him even with just Shikamaru and Emi at her side.

The current theory was that there were nine Akatsuki members, one for each tailed beast, and counting out who she knew, that left three mystery shinobi. However, Sakura wasn't going to be stupid enough to think they didn't have backup. Ten, maybe twelve shinobi at _least_, and so far she had potential methods for dealing with each of the known ones.

She was definitely being optimistic, but how could she not be? They'd _taken down Danzo_, they'd fixed Gaara's seal so he could sleep again, they'd successfully pulled _seven_ shinobi nations into an alliance. It hadn't been easy, but it sure felt like things were sort of naturally going their way.

And maybe that was the true reason for the sense of peace that Sakura felt as they walked. Maybe it was the sense of accomplishment, the sense that she had _gotten _somewhere. It had only been a _year_ since she'd left the village to research her enemies and help save her friends. A _year_, and things were already so different she could barely recognize herself. Would the Sakura of a year ago have laughed if she'd been told of the future? Of the Suna Jinchuuriki, of the snarky boy from Root, now her best friends, now her _team?_ That she was looking at a future without Sasuke in it and was strangely...alright with it?

Where would she be another year from now? Alive still? Accomplished? Powerful?

"What are you thinking about?"

Sakura was dragged from her thoughts as Sai spoke up. "You've got quite the pensive look on your face." He clarified. "Or maybe it's not pensive...perhaps constipation?"

Sakura slapped his arm playfully. "I'm thinking about the future, you dummy. Where we'll be a year from now."

"Following our projected route, we'll hopefully be somewhere on the south end of Kiri." Sai answered. "Barring that we don't die or get otherwise delayed."

"Ha ha. I meant who we'd be as people. Who will have signed the pact. What we'll have learned. Maybe Gaara will have figured out the puzzle box by then!"

Gaara grunted at this, currently fiddling with said box as they walked. It was more difficult than a normal box, they'd figured out. It required chakra inputs at certain twists and turns, and the wrong input would reset the entire box. If anything, it was a rather decent exercise in chakra control, but as a Jinchuuriki Gaara had never needed much to begin with. The boy was beyond frustrated, forgoing his newfound ability to sleep in favor of getting more time to try and work at the box. Shukaku, of course, had been quiet on the subject. (But not quiet in general, in fact, Shukaku had taken his newfound freedom to provide commentary through Gaara whenever he deemed it appropriate.) Whenever Gaara asked about the box, Shukaku simply insisted that it was a test, over and over again.

"What do you think is in it?"

"Something silly. A gold leaf." Sai postulated. "Tanuki are mischievous, so they say. What better mischief than forcing someone to work for days for a mere trinket?"

"Hey, a solid gold leaf could still pay for a couple nice nights at an inn." Sakura countered. "I've heard there's a hundred onsen in Yugakure. We could have our pick!"

"There's fourteen." Sai corrected. "And an onsen would simply relax you into letting your guard down."

"Steam." Sakura countered. "Even the Sharingan is hindered in the mist."

"You're so certain?"

"I've lived it, that's how I know." Sakura thought back to the Land of Waves, of how Kakashi had needed hounds to track down Zabuza in the Mist, eyes rendered useless. "Team Seven's first mission involved fighting Momichi Zabuza. He used mist to shield himself."

"Ah." Sai nodded, pulling out his notebook to jot down notes. "The Byakugan has the advantage there, I suppose. Fog can't stop a Hyuuga, but it _can_ stop an Uchiha. It's a wonder the smoke from their fire jutsu never caused a hindrance. It might be prudent to learn a jutsu that creates smoke or fog."

"I'd imagine someone we know has access to a few. If not, we can always…"

"What, petition Kiri? I'm sure they'll be more than eager to share village jutsu after decades of being at war with every shinobi nation on the continent. Themselves included."

"We'll figure it out." Sakura stuck out her tongue. "But I admit, there's a reason I've put Kiri last on my list. Nobody's sure if they even have a Kage anymore."

"Yugakure doesn't have a Kage anymore either. Perhaps they'll be good practice."

Sakura highly doubted that. Kiri was a nation devastated by war. Yu, in contrast, hadn't participated in _any_ of the major wars. Her record of Yugakure indicated that they didn't have a Kage due to a recent democratic decision to disband the Yu shinobi in favor of pacifism. There were still citizens that used chakra, mostly defending from bandits and occasionally performing odd jobs for the villages, but Yu prided itself on being 'the village that had forgotten war'. Sakura would have figured that neighboring villages would have taken the change as an excuse to invade and take the lands for their own, but so far it appeared as though none had tried. She understood why Konoha didn't take advantage; recovering from the Kyuubi attack and now suffering through two minor wars had set them back. Shinobi would be lost trying to take Yu, and even more lost to trying to maintain new borders that they were unfamiliar with. Sakura would have figured that Oto was, perhaps, too new to try invading another country...but Orochimaru had invaded Konoha, so that was blatantly not true. Sakura theorized there that Orochimaru simply had no interest in Yu like he had with Konoha. Oto was a surprisingly wealthy nation, dominating the rice trade and, less surprisingly so now knowing its leader, also exporting a fair amount of unique civilian technology. Sakura was sure none of the exports were the pinnacle of what Orochimaru had developed, but why not take advantage of outdated technology by selling it to those who weren't quite as caught up as you were? Yes, Sakura supposed it made sense that Orochimaru didn't have much interest in conquering Yu immediately, who had nothing to offer but economic benefit. Kumo, on the other hand, was a mystery. Maybe they just liked having Yu as a barrier between them and other countries, maybe they were simply nicer than Konohan propaganda had given them credit for, or maybe it was something else entirely. Sakura just wasn't sure, but she was fairly certain that, with the possible exception of Akatsuki, Yu would be peaceful. A definite calm before some very intimidating storms.

She would still be approaching the Yu leaders to discuss her treaty. Perhaps Yu wasn't an official shinobi nation any longer, but Sakura figured it would be rude to leave them out of things. They had shinobi in their history, and they were an important part of the world economy. Sakura hoped speaking with them would go quickly and smoothly. A pacifist nation would surely find no trouble signing into a multi-nation alliance?

Sai was probably rubbing off on her, because a pessimist thought in her mind kept thinking that things looked a bit too easy, which meant _something_ was going to go horribly wrong.

For now, at least, Sakura let herself bask in peace of the journey.

* * *

The forest gave way to fissures, worn into the earth by mighty rivers and majestic waterfalls. A large part of the Yu border met with the ocean, and many of the rivers that began in Iwa spiraled their way through the land until coming to a rest at Yu's shores. They made their way back to the road once they were sure they were within Yu proper, not wanting any of the country's patrols to think them suspicious, and in turn that set them on the path to pass many of Yu's various inns and resorts. Small towns had seemed to form around each resort, along with various fisheries and markets. It reminded Sakura that money was fairly scarce for her team, and if that ever changed in the future she wanted nothing more than to give every single one of the resorts here a try. She made compromise by deciding to allow herself a few nights at one of the resorts in the hidden village while she spoke with the Yu leaders.

Yugakure itself was centered around a massive lake. Its buildings were built into the fissure walls and around the lakeside, and one building overall dominated the scenery: a multi-floored building that looked as though it might be a temple. The village guards informed her that it was a place of government, where the leaders met to address the country's needs and where citizens would come to elect new leaders every year. Leaders could be elected multiple years in a row, but it was entirely possible that a leader could be elected once and then never lead again, a concept that was admittedly strange to Sakura. A leader was supposed to be a constant, guiding force. How could anything get done when the country went through political upheaval every year?

But things _did_ get done, and Yu continued to prosper. Sakura supposed there was something to it that she simply missed, and maybe the more time she spent here, the more she'd be able to understand.

They made their way to the temple building first. They had arrived in the early afternoon, and there was no reason to delay meeting with the leaders. It didn't take long to track them down. Upon entering the building they were gestured into a waiting room by the guards, and hardly any time passed at all before three people entered to greet them.

The first two introduced themselves, and Sakura wished she had the clarity of mind to greet them properly, because upon seeing the third person, she was immediately overwhelmed with the sensation of memories. She had _seen_ this man before, seen him in some strange sort of dream where he had been gathering herbs in a tall field. He had looked at her and told her that the village would be changing soon, that she wasn't yet _ready_ for something…

But he was older now, with shocks of gray dotting his hair and new wrinkles where there hadn't been any before. Yet he still wore the white kimono of her memory, as did the other two people, and more interestingly, he wore a rather familiar necklace: a black circle, with an inverted triangle within it.

"I am Genkei, the Third Representative of Yu." The man announced himself, and Sakura was even more surprised because she'd known the man's name before he said it. He noticed the recognition in her eyes, and she saw him glance downwards towards the matching necklace around her own neck. "...and it seems as though a treaty won't be the only thing we'll be discussing today."

"S-Sakura Haruno." Sakura forced herself to say. "And I suppose you're probably right."

"I'll prioritize your treaty, if you don't mind. We cannot actually make any decision on it without putting our council to a vote, so it's best we get that process started as soon as possible."

The representatives were predictably amenable to the concept of the treaty, even more so considering the countries that had signed onto it already. Sakura allowed herself a breath of relief when the three promised they would bring up the treaty with the council immediately, and a further breath when they assured her that the country's stance would most likely be 'yes', as any step towards universal peace would be considered a worthy one. However, there would have to be some addendums made: Yu would likely want to keep its pacifist status, which meant that if war with an unallied nation _did_ occur, Yu would be unwilling to send their own to help fight, regardless of any signed treaty. That of course led to some complications: if Yu was given special treatment and allowed to simply send supplies to allies during war, other countries might try to withhold military aid by just sending supplies of their own. Sakura drafted several potential compromises. They could send healers instead of fighters, people that would travel to villages and provide aid to wounded shinobi that were brought home away from the front lines. There could be a more general addendum made to the treaty: countries without a military force would be held to different standards of the treaty than those _with_ a military force. (They would have to define guidelines for a military force, which would be a _lot_ more work, but Sakura had expected to be continually drafting the treaty every time she reached a new country anyway.) Yu could simply refuse to sign the treaty until all other countries were on board, thus lowering the risk that they'd be drawn into conflict anyway. The representatives had a copy of the treaty; Sakura would leave it in the hands of the Yu council to come up with options that she could bring up with the rest of her allied nations.

Sakura assured them that they had time, and she would stay in Yu for as long as it took for them to reach a preliminary agreement. To her delight, Genkei even often to host them.

"It isn't rare that we receive shinobi as tourists, but never before have we received ambassadors. We should set a precedent for treating them well, should we not?" Genkei told her as they walked along the lakeshore. Genkei's house was built into the cliffside, but man had offered a scenic tour of Yugakure before closing them in for the night. "We have been preaching for years that the future of the world should not be written in war. Within the past hundred years, shinobi have weathered three world wars, and Yu considered that far too many. We will destroy ourselves without balance. That balance is now being considered…" Genkei smiled. "I believe it will give many of us hope to see it. If your purpose here is peace, you will always be welcome in my home."

"Our purpose _is_ peace." Sakura promised. "But we've also come to warn. There is a mercenary group that opposes us, and they're hunting Jinchuuriki as well-"

"Akatsuki." Genkei replied with a nod. "They will not come here. Even if they have reason to."

"You're so certain?"

"We have a factor in our favor. I'm assuming you know of Hidan?"

"He's the one that gave this to me." Sakura reached up to touch her amulet. "I actually came here for some answers about him and his religion. But he's _part_ of Akatsuki…"

"Exactly." Genkei agreed. "Hidan...he disagrees with our village politics, but he will not allow harm to come to his home, whether he outwardly admits it or not. I am quite certain he has worked to convince his leader that we are not worth their time. And for the most part, we are not. We have no Jinchuuriki. We have little military power. This country is a neutral haven, and even Akatsuki would be loathe to make themselves unwelcome here."

"I guess that's comforting." Sakura glanced towards Gaara. They hadn't been open about his status as a Jinchuuriki, but at this point she felt like it was becoming common knowledge anyway, and Genkei had insinuated as such. If Genkei was so certain they were safe, she was tempted to believe that there was _some_ amount of truth to his words. And within the borders of a village was definitely safer than alone in the woods.

"You mentioned wanting to know of Hidan's religion?"

"Yes. Literally anything at all. Hidan mentioned that Jashin's worshippers lived here in Yu, and I could get more answers if I went to them."

"He was correct. Jashin's followers live north of here. The first step to reaching their temple is to find his worshippers here in Yugakure." Genkei gestured to his own necklace. "I studied with them for over a decade before I returned to serve as a shinobi for Yu. Believe it or not, there are many worshippers here. Most simply keep their prayers to themselves."

It painted a different picture in her mind of Genkei, knowing that he'd studied under Jashinism for a decade. Hidan had mentioned Jashin was a God of Pain, demanding total annihilation of one's foes...how could Yu be a pacifist nation if many of its worshippers followed this philosophy?

"You look confused."

"...I feel like I might not have the whole picture."

"Knowing Hidan, I believe that." Genkei laughed. "He was my student once, you see. A genin under my command, before Yu's military was dissolved. He reacted more passionately than most when this happened, and I became afraid, for a time, that he might fall down a dark path without proper guidance. Hidan thrived on the thrill of battle. He was a shinobi that would have flourished in any other nation than Yu. Thankfully, for him, there was another option. I sent him to the Temple of Jashin, and there he found a greater purpose. There, perhaps, _you_ will find greater purpose."

Genkei refused to speak more on the subject, despite Sakura's prying. He drew a route for her to follow on their map, but more than that, he claimed, was for her to find out when she arrived there.

They ended up staying in Yugakure for three days. It only took two, technically, for the Yu council to decide on options for joining with the treaty, and from there they claimed it would have to be put to a country-wide vote. There would be two stages of voting, one to decide if they should join the treaty and potentially forgo straight pacifism in favor of keeping peace, the other to decide what amendments to request so that Yu could stay true to their ideals.

They spent the third day being treated to the amenities of an onsen, courtesy of the Yu council. As Genkei had told them, a precedent needed to be set for how ambassadors were treated, and Yu was united in the belief that they be treated _well_.

Sakura certainly didn't have any complaints about that.

On the morning of the fourth day, Genkei took them to the village gates to see them off. Sakura asked him one more time if he could tell them anything at all about the Jashin religion, to which Genkei said only one thing.

"Don't let your guard down."

* * *

They walked for another day, leaving the main road from the village and branching into a side ravine that was more craggy stone than actual path. Genkei had been exact in drawing the route, but despite this Sakura still found herself doubting the path until they came across a crudely drawn symbol on the cliff wall: the circle with the inverted triangle. A sign, hopefully, that they were on the right track.

There was a strange sense of foreboding that crept over them with every step, enough so that even Sai ran out of quips to say. Shukaku was oddly quiet, and Gaara put down his puzzle box in favor of keeping on high alert. On top of that, Sakura couldn't help but notice that she felt..._pulsing_. Like the pulsing of a heartbeat, echoing through the ravine walls and reverberating with her very body. At one point Sakura sent out a sensing pulse of her own, and the result was a feedback of chakra so intense that it stunned her for a good minute. Whatever was going on, there was a massive concentration of _something_ here.

Even more disturbing was that neither Gaara or Sai felt this pulsing at all.

Sakura kept close to the boys with that realization. Whatever was going on with her, whatever power had been bestowed on her, it was both thrilling and terrifying that it applied to her and her alone. With everything that she knew, would she regret seeking answers? Or would this be the key to something 'greater', as Genkei had suggested?

They reached their destination as the sun began to set, casting long shadows over the craggy path. The ravine dipped downwards, and all at once a deep canyon was revealed to them, and within it the largest statue Sakura had ever seen.

It was a statue of a man, and at first Sakura was convinced it was the Sage of Six Paths. There were the trademark two horns protruding from the man's head, and he was wearing a long robe adorned with familiar magatama symbols. However, unlike the Sage, this man's hair was long and flowed down his back, and the staff that he carried was slightly different than the Sage's: instead of various rings on a hooped end, this staff had two protruding crosses. Finally, Sakura did not see the signature 'third eye' on the man's forehead.

This was _not_ the Sage of Six Paths...but he was _similar_.

The statue itself had to be at least a couple hundred feet tall, only dwarfed by the massive canyon walls surrounding it. At the statue's feet looked to be a temple building, similar to the one she had seen in Yugakure. The temple, however, looked strangely dark. Sakura wished she could use her sensing jutsu, but another quick pulse confirmed that there was too much of _something_ around for her to pick up on any signs of life.

"**He's familiar…**" Shukaku spoke through Gaara. "**Like Hagoromo, but…**"

"Hagoromo?"

Sakura made to ask further, but all at once, Gaara's sand rushed around them, and she heard a loud 'thunk' as something embedded itself in the shield.

"An arrow." Gaara announced, allowing the arrow to fall to the ground in front of them. It was larger than most arrows Sakura had seen, and the arrowhead was of an unusual shape, as though parts of it had fanned out upon hitting the sand.

"If that sort of arrow hits flesh, it would hurt to pull out." Sai bent over to pick up the arrow, not even flinching as another one was intercepted by Gaara's defense. "If it doesn't kill, it causes pain. Appropriate, from what we know of these people."

Seven more arrows flew their way before the volley stopped, each coming from slightly different angles and directions. As the final arrow flew, a figure landed on the road in front of them, wielding a massive bow and a satchel full of the strange arrows. Her attire was strange: she wore a thick black jacket with a furred hood, and a casual white shirt and pants that looked more like they belonged to a civilian than a shinobi.

"Nice shield." The figure, a tall, scarred woman, spoke in a tone that seemed both amused and frustrated. "Not many people can block my arrows so well. But is defense all you got, or do you actually know how to have a good time?"

The woman then held the bow in front of her, and with a strange click, the string retracted and the bow split into two parts. The woman wielded one part in each hand, and it was only then that Sakura realized that the bow was somehow _bladed_, and now the woman was essentially wielding two swords.

"W-wait!" Sakura called out, rushing forward and holding her amulet at the ready. "I was sent here by Hidan and Genkei! We're here to learn about Jashinism!"

"Oh?" The woman looked to the amulet, and a sadistic grin pulled across her face. "_Excellent_. It's been a long time since we've tested a potential."

She shifted into a fighting stance, and behind her four more warriors appeared, also wearing similarly strange attire and holding intimidating weaponry.

"First test, recruit." The woman announced. "Reach the temple alive and we might consider you worthy of our attention. The more of us you take down in the process, the higher your score will be. Got it, dipshits?"

Sakura swallowed and drew a kunai, falling into a fighting stance of her own. Gaara's sand swirled at the ready, and next to her she saw Sai ready his brush and ink.

"We got it…" Sai replied. "Pissbrain."

The woman grinned.

"Oh, I think we're going to _like_ you."


	65. Chapter 65

A boy charged them first, who couldn't have been much older than they were, wielding the largest hammer Sakura had ever seen in her life. Gaara's sand flew up with plenty of time to intercept it, and despite the size the hammer didn't even remotely seem to make a dent.

The boy, however, smirked. He reached into a pouch at his hip and drew several strips of paper, _paper bombs_, and slapped them onto the flat of the hammer. They began to sizzle, and Sakura had mere seconds to brace herself.

The boy raised his arms back and slammed the hammer against the sand in time with the bombs' detonation, and this time Gaara's shield almost burst from the effort of taking the blow. Though the force of the blow didn't hit them directly, the wind pressure from the attack sent the three of them reeling.

"_Shit_!" Sakura cursed aloud. Was this boy going to blow up the whole mountain with that damned thing? Around her she saw rubble crumbling down the cliffsides, and the boy himself had singe marks on his clothing and even on his face from the blow. Despite this, the boy looked excited, perhaps even maniacal. It reminded her of the look Hidan had gotten as she watched him fight Hiroshi.

_Definitely cut from the same cloth_.

And the boy was already pulling out more paper bombs to slap on that abomination of a hammer. Sakura moved to draw a kunai, but by the time she was rearing back to throw, the boy swung a second time, clashing once more with Gaara's sand. This time Sakura was slightly more prepared for the blast, but the force of it was still enough to send her scooting back in the dirt several inches. She looked forward just in time to see an even scarier side effect of the weapon: the heat and force of the blast was _melting_ Gaara's sand at the impact point, which meant that every successful hit gave Gaara less sand to work with. If they kept this up, _Gaara's shield wouldn't last_, and though Gaara was capable of mixing his sand with soil to create more earth to work with, they were in a ravine, and the earth beneath them was hard and difficult to mold.

Sai, thankfully, had already begun to draw, and before the boy could draw up a third set of paper bombs, an inked bird flew directly into his eyes and caused him to stagger.

"Push forward!" Sai insisted. "They told us to aim for the temple!"

He was right, the _temple_ was their true goal, not these fighters, and of _course_ they'd send the fucking _exploding hammer_ in first, if only to route them and cause them to move further away from the goal. However, this reminder alone caused Sakura to realize something. The hammer was large, which meant the boy could only swing it so fast, _and_ he had to prepare the bombs before activating them. It was intimidating, but after having weathered the first few blows it had been easy enough for Sai to aim and get a pot shot in. Not only that, but _only_ the boy had moved in, with the others on stand-by as though it was currently their job to just sit and watch.

It was almost like they weren't really _trying_ to kill them, simply scare them off. And then it clicked, because of _course_ the Jashinists would have an intimidating hazing ritual for potential recruits. The first few shots from the woman would have killed any curious bandits, and once Sakura had shown her medallion and announced her intent, _then_ the woman had summoned her band and announced the exercise. They wouldn't just _kill_ potential recruits, not before getting a chance to assess their skills and find out if they were worthy.

It was a test. A flashy, explosive one meant to test their mettle. Sai was right, they _had_ to push forward if they wanted to pass.

Not only that, but the woman had stated they got extra 'points' for disabling opponents. They wanted _bold_, they wanted _brave_, they wanted fighting prowess and skill on top of the ability to maintain one's composure and push past an enemy. There was a part of Sakura that wondered if she could just convince Gaara to rush the five with his sand and quickly crush them, like he used to do a year ago. But that wasn't really proving her _own_ power, and it wasn't Gaara who had dragged them here to figure out answers. Sakura was the one with the amulet, the one with strange visions and interesting powers, the one who had spoken to Hidan and learned where she'd needed to go. She needed to prove that _she_ was worthy of entering the temple.

"Cover me." She told the boys, stowing away her kunai. She had a plan now, and she'd _always_ been a good test taker. Sakura pushed chakra towards her legs and threw herself forward, reaching the boy in front of her and grabbing not him, but the _hammer_. With the ink in his eyes, the boy couldn't put up much resistance, and that meant Sakura could disarm him _and_ get an asset for herself. She yanked the hammer from his hands, only buckling a little under the weight of the new weapon, and in the same rushing motion arced it forward in an attack towards the enemies ahead. The hammer hadn't been primed with bombs yet, but it appeared as though the others had an instinctive reaction to back away when the hammer was swung, as each of them hopped away in anticipation. Behind her, she caught a glimpse of Sai knocking out the enemy boy with quick strike to the head, and with that her boys caught up and they had regained the ground they'd lost.

And now Sakura had a _hammer_.

She hadn't been trained in handling large weapons, of course, but there was still something kind of empowering about wielding one nonetheless. And while her current idea was admittedly a stupid one, Sakura _liked_ the idea of turning an enemy's weapon against them. She stopped just long enough to offer the flat of the hammer to Sai, who in turn got a knowing glint in his eye and pulled out paper bombs of his own to donate.

"Gaara, put me in the air!"

She rushed forward, and in front of her Gaara's sand flowed to make a staircase. She leaped when she reached the top of it, letting both gravity and her own strength bring the hammer in a downward arc towards the group, right as Sai's bombs primed to detonate. The enemies dodged it, of course, which Sakura had been expecting; she hadn't wanted to hit _them_ with the blow, after all.

The hammer struck the ground, and the full force of the blast suddenly pushed Sakura upwards and forwards through the air, over her opponents and directly towards the temple. For a moment, she wondered if things could _really_ be that easy. But before she landed on the ground, she felt something wrap around her ankle and pull her sharply downwards, causing her to slam onto her back rather than land neatly on her feet.

"Nice try, but not good enough!"

The man who'd spoken up was wielding a long chain in both hands. It took a brief moment for Sakura to realize that there were hooked barbs among some of the links, and that the pain she was now feeling on _top_ of the soreness of the fall was coming from the metal digging into her skin.

_Shit, that's not coming out easy._

Definitely a weapon meant to maim, not kill. Keep her pinned down or else risk tearing veins and arteries trying to remove the chain. A part of Sakura wished she knew a lightning jutsu; a small shock down the chain would easily force the man to let go, that she knew from experience now, but of course she had to have been born an _earth_ type.

Which meant, right now, leaving it in until she could get to safety behind Gaara's sand was her only option. She couldn't risk removing it in battle.

But she'd dealt with _worse_ pain, she realized, absolutely nothing could top several doses of lightning jutsu directly into her nervous system, and Sakura found a simple pleasure in watching the look on the man's face as she stood up without even bothering to address her wound.

"Nice try." She retorted, grinning. "But not good enough."

Her boys were running to catch up, which gave her an opportunity. Sakura's hands weaved a series of signals, at the same time molding chakra into her mouth, and fired several water bullets directly at the man's face. He ducked and weaved, of course, and Sakura gritted her teeth as the chain moved with him, but the bullets had just been a distraction: Gaara's sand weaved its way around the man's arms and she saw the sand constrict tightly. The man didn't even yell or cry out, to his credit, and Sakura wasn't sure if Gaara had broken bones or just squeezed tightly enough to cause pain, but it was still enough to make him drop the chain. Sakura quickly reached down and began to bundle it before anyone else could make a grab for it. At the same time, she saw Sai in the distance, sending several waves of inked tigers at the other fighters to keep them at bay.

There was currently nobody between her and the temple, but Sakura wasn't sure if she could limp her way there before an enemy fought their way around the boys.

But...they _were_ in a canyon. There was a lot of hard earth beneath their feet, and even though Gaara's sand was limited in capacity, if the two of them worked together…

"Sai, head for the air!" Sakura called out, forcing her shaking legs into a stance. She let chakra begin to build in her hands, and prepared herself to mold the earth in front of her. "Gaara, let's cut them off!"

Gaara was by her side in an instant, Shukaku's chakra flaring up around him. She started flowing through hand signs, and to her surprise and curiosity she saw Gaara mimicking her and going through the same. So Gaara _wasn't_ using his sand for the wall. A potential advantage, she noted, if the wall didn't work and their enemies tried to cut them off again. They both slammed their hands to the ground at the same time, and Sakura could _feel_ the rush of Shukaku's chakra alongside her own as they summoned forth walls of earth. The wall spread across the ravine just in time to separate them from the enemy.

Sakura took the brief moment of reprieve to take a deep breath. Her leg ached, but they'd bought some time. She saw Sai, aloft on a giant inked bird, narrowly dodge a few kunai as he cleared the wall. As he landed next to them, he smiled.

"Kind of an easy test, wasn't it?"

"Ha, ha, you don't have several daggers in your leg." Sakura retorted. "And we're not quite there yet."

Sai offered her a hand. "Well, we can rectify that."

Sakura gladly took his hand, sitting down on the back of his bird as Gaara climbed on as well. From there, the bird lazily flew them towards the temple entrance, reaching it just as their attackers had managed to scale the wall behind them. Sai dismissed the bird, then turned to give the pursuers a cheeky wave.

They each took a confident step through the temple's entrance, and then heard an ominous click as one of the tiles sank beneath Sakura's foot.

"...shit."

Gaara's sand rushed around them in an ultimately futile gesture as the ground opened up beneath their feet. Sakura felt the lurch of gravity and frantically tried to reach for solid ground, at the same time feeling Sai grab onto her. They were in freefall for only a few moments before Gaara's sand caught up and formed a platform beneath them, but by then the trapdoor above them had already begun to close. It was but a few moments later before the trio were submerged into darkness.

"So...what were you saying about the test being easy, Sai?"

"We got into the temple. We technically passed the test."

"The _first_ test, we should have _known_ the damn entranced was trapped! For all we know we just narrowly avoided a spiked pit or something down there!"

"Considering they intended for their potential recruits to be rushing for the entrance, I doubt they'd lay a trap that killed those that were successful. I would assume that the second test is escaping the trap."

"Great. Do you wanna try to pry the ceiling open?"

"Let's start with being able to see."

There was a small click as Sai turned on a flashlight, and light spilled into the chamber. There were tight walls all around them, and of course Gaara's sand beneath them, but beyond Gaara's sand she saw not spikes, but a long tunnel with a slide that led deeper into the mountain. "You're probably right, Sai, they _did_ intend for us to fall for it." Sakura concluded as she squinted into the darkness. "And if we want to know more, we probably need to play along with their games. But first…" She grimaced. "...mind getting this stupid chain off my leg?"

The barbs took a gentle hand to remove, but thankfully Sai was more than capable. As Sai got to work bandaging it, Gaara used his sand to slowly take them down the slide. The tunnel eventually evened out, going forward instead of going downward, and in the distance Sakura caught sight of light.

The tunnel eventually opened up, dumping them into what appeared to be a fairly large barred cell. Easy enough to break through the bars, and Sakura was already contemplating the best way to force them apart, but her thoughts were interrupted by who she saw on the other side.

It was a man, an older man with hair as pure white as snow. He wore simple white robes and carried a tall, black staff: the very same staff that the man depicted in the statue outside had wielded. This man, however, was clearly different. There were no horns upon his brow, and his robes did not have the distinct magatama pattern upon them. The man did, however, have unusual, pupil-less eyes...eyes that distinctly reminded her of the _Byakugan_ of all things.

"Sakura Haruno." The man announced, stating her name rather than inquiring it. "Gaara. Sai." He nodded towards each of the boys in turn. "You are earlier than we expected, I think. This bodes well."

About a million questions ran through Sakura's mind at once, the foremost of which being _how did he know their __**names**__, _but before she could speak up the man held up a hand to quiet her.

"I am Shiro Otsutsuki, one of the Jushisai of Jashin's temple. You have injured your leg, so perhaps you will first allow me to lead you to one of our healers. There, I will answer whatever questions you may have."

It was definitely a tempting offer, though Sakura was a bit wary. They'd gone from a hot-blooded fight to a sudden offer of healing and 'answers', a stark sort of whiplash that seemed a bit too good to be true. Sakura found herself reaching for the handle of her kunai, calming herself by running her fingers over the metal. She made to speak, but before she could she felt a sudden burst of chakra, _angry_ chakra, and it was Gaara who stood forward to speak with Shukaku's low growl.

"**And who are you to dare take on the name of the Sage of Six Paths?**"

"I believe the correct term would be a grand-nephew of sorts." An amused smile came to the man's face, and he turned his hand to silence Gaara and Shukaku instead. "Peace, Shukaku. I mean not to dishonor the name of the one whom you know as Hagoromo. Much as Hagoromo fathered two sons that founded the names of Uchiha and Senju, so too did his younger brother, Hamura, father two daughters. One such daughter left these lands to found the clan of Hyuuga. The other remained here, and carried on the name of Otsutsuki. I am descended from that daughter, as are several others that make their home here within these caverns."

"**Hamura…**" Shukaku's voice seemed uncertain, and she saw Gaara's face twinge with confusion. "**Hagoromo mentioned a brother once, but never the name.**"

"Then I daresay you have plenty of questions." Shiro then stepped forward, unlocking the door to the chamber and pulling it slowly open. "But first, your wounds, Sakura. And perhaps a warm meal. We have much to discuss, and I know you have traveled quite a long way."

Sakura was still wary, but the prospect of answers was too enticing to turn down. She stepped forward, determined.

"I'm here for answers." She decided. "Lead the way."

* * *

The tunnels were warm, and there was a faint mist about them that Shiro informed them was due to the presence of several underground hot springs. Sakura caught a glimpse of one of them as they walked, as well as the sight of two warriors balancing on the water's surface with bo staves, sparring with a ferocious intensity.

"The Hageshisai." Shiro spoke before she could ask. "You met several of their number on your way in. I must apologize for their roughness. They keep out intruders and test potential converts, and despite the fact that they knew of your coming, I have no doubt that they wanted to see what you were capable of. I hope you do not look upon them too harshly."

"They could use better security." Sai commented, and Sakura winced at the bluntness of the statement. "If we three could get in, so could most skilled shinobi."

"Most skilled shinobi do not know we exist." Shiro countered. "It was only through your brush with our Hidan that you know of us at all, and only due to the presence of your amulet that Ginkei gave you the means to find us. Those who stumble upon our temple by accident are usually bandits who fall easily to our temple traps, if our warriors do not get to them first. And the natural energy that runs throughout our caverns is more than capable of shielding our signatures from the most adept of sensors."

Natural energy. Sakura remembered the overwhelming amount of chakra she had sensed outside, but natural energy...that was supposed to be _everywhere_, and it had never interfered with her sensing before.

"How is it that so much natural energy gathers here?"

"Our temple lies upon a nexus." Shiro explained, looking back at her with a gentle smile. "There are many nexus points throughout the world. The majority of these points have been settled by the sage colonies. These colonies are made up of chakra-sensitive animals that have served as companions for shinobi since before shinobi ever existed. Several more of these nexus points are hidden and notoriously difficult to access. Natural energy builds within the earth and seeps upward into the world through soil and rock. This energy is taken up by plants and recycled into the world as plants are devoured by living creatures. And upon death, the energy is recycled once more into the soil. Due to this process, many of the nexus points are located deep within the earth. It is only due to the natural tunnels created over hundreds of years that humans were able to find this nexus. That, of course, and my ancestor's uncanny ability to sense the patterns of natural energy within the earth."

"But what creates that energy to begin with?"

"Ah, what an insightful question. One I wish I could answer. I can provide you with our theories, if you wish. Our priests have debated this for generations, but alas we cannot dig far enough into the earth to learn the answer. Not enough air to breathe, and the ground itself grows hotter with every foot that you dig downward."

"Onoki-sensei had a theory about that!" Sakura grew excited as she remembered her sensei's teaching. "He believes that there's hot magma at the center of the planet, and that's why it gets hotter on the way down. He actually had an entire mining division dedicated to researching it. He referred to it as the 'core' of the planet."

"Indeed. And perhaps it is this core that produces the energy somehow, but the how and why of it, we do not know." Shiro suddenly stopped, gesturing for Sakura to enter a room to his right. "But for now, have a seat, and allow me to attend you. We have plenty of time to discuss the origin of natural energy, rest assured."

"Er, well, that's probably not the _top _priority."

"No, most assuredly not. But it _is_ a worthy topic of discussion nonetheless."

The room had a small pool of steaming water in the center of it, and floating within the pool were dozens of porcelain bowls. As they floated across the water, they occasionally bumped into each other, creating a unique harmony of ringing sounds that was soothing to listen to. Around the pool were several chairs, as well as many tatami mats. A meditation room of sorts, Sakura deduced, though for now they were the only ones there. Shiro gestured for Sakura to sit in one of the chairs before kneeling down and placing his hands upon her legs. A green glow covered his hands, and the pain in Sakura's leg slowly began to bleed away.

"Simple medical jutsu." Shiro explained. "Which is more than sufficient for treating minor wounds such as these. For more invasive wounds, we of the Jushisai have more drastic techniques. I shall hope in your time here that I need not use them upon you."

"Thanks." Sakura stretched her leg, noting with a smile that the wounds had closed completely. "So long as nobody tries to kill us again."

"Oh, I unfortunately cannot guarantee that." Shiro answered with a chuckle. "The Hageshisai can be fairly belligerent at times, but as _you_ are Jashin's chosen, I do not believe they will be quite as inclined as they usually are."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "...chosen?"

"Yes. One of two. It is why I know of you, why all of us know of you. It is why you have found yourself beset by visions you cannot explain. Why you found remarkable power in dire moments. Why you are here, now, so desperate for answers. You are not here by chance, Sakura Haruno. You are here by Jashin's design."

"I find that hard to believe." Sai piped up. "Sakura didn't initially leave her home because some vision spurred her on. It was by chance she met Hidan at all."

"Chance, indeed." Shiro nodded. "But choice to leave. Choice to speak with Hidan and learn more. Choice to pursue the unification of the shinobi world. Choice to 'root' out the evil that had spread within Konoha's borders. Sakura, you were chosen _because_ of the choices you made. You were led here because Jashin believes you worthy to be his own. Given strength because you have proven yourself worthy of it."

Sakura flushed slightly pink at the praise. There was a thought in her mind that there were _far_ more worthy shinobi than herself...but Shiro didn't lie. She _was_ pursuing peace, she _did_ start the 'Konoha Revival' operation...and perhaps those things were worthy of acknowledgement. "But how do you _know_ about all of this?" Sakura demanded. "How could news of what happened in Konoha possibly have reached here before we did? We came _straight here._"

"You already know the answer to that, don't you, Sakura?"

Sakura bit her lip as she thought. Visions, Shiro had mentioned, she'd had _visions_. She'd seen visions of the past. Visions of the present. Seen the world through _other peoples' eyes._

"Sakura?"

She looked up towards Gaara and Sai, both of whom looked concerned and worried. "He's right." Sakura answered. "He's..._right_, but I don't know how it's possible. I didn't even really know it was happening until recently, it was like they were just some strange _dreams_…"

"You mentioned dreams." Gaara reminded her. "But you'd never said what they were."

"I didn't _know_, I _still_ don't know!"

"Then perhaps we should begin there." Shiro gently took hold of her hands and helped her to her feet. "You want answers, Sakura, and I can give them. But perhaps it would serve you better if you found answers directly from the source. You are here, now, and you have answered Jashin's call. Now you must let him speak to you, if you are ready. If you are willing."

Sakura looked to her boys once again, but at this point her mind was already made up. She'd come too far to say no.

"I'm ready. And willing."

"Good. Then come this way."

In the back of the cave were several paper seals, and upon placing his hand in the center of them, the wall of the cave melted away to reveal a passageway. Shiro led them through it, deeper and deeper into the earth until Sakura could no longer hear the soothing melody of the bowls in the pond, could hear nothing at all but their footsteps and stillness. The passageway slowly opened up, and eventually she found herself within a massive chamber.

The first thing she noticed, something that was perhaps impossible to miss, was a massive altar, upon which rested an enormous deposit of black stone. Obsidian, Sakura recognized, and it was with a sudden realization that she noted that her amulet was _also_ obsidian made, perhaps even from this very deposit, judging by the cuts and indentations along its sides. In front of the altar sat two candles, one whose wax was black, the other white. Both were lit, but unlike the other candles lighting the room, the wax on these candles did not seem to melt. Sakura's eyes were drawn to the white candle, and she was reminded of the _pulsing_ again, a deep pulsing that was still echoing in her bones, demanding that she step closer and _see_...

"Come, Sakura. Sit before the altar and make yourself comfortable."

Sakura did so, sitting herself cross-legged on the long mat that lay in front of the altar. Shiro sat next to her in a similar position, and behind her she noted Gaara and Sai sit as well.

"This altar is a nexus. It is a position of great natural strength. Can you feel it, Sakura? Feel the echo of chakra beneath the stones?"

"Yes." Sakura answered. She closed her eyes, letting the pulsing rhythm of the room wash over her. "It's...overwhelming."

"Good. Focus on the echo. Keep very still, if you can, and _breathe_. Try to match the rhythm of the energy with every breath you take."

Sakura did so. It was difficult at first, clearing her mind and forcing her breath to match the rhythm that seemed to get more and more intense with each passing moment. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, could hear the steady crackle of the fire of the candles around her, and the pulsing, again and again and again. But with time, breathing to the rhythm became easier. She felt a sort of relief as her body matched its pace, and where the pulsing was overwhelming before, now it seemed to fade into the background, steady, never leaving, always there, but not overbearing.

"What now?" She asked, her eyes still closed for fear of breaking the calm she'd allowed to wash over herself. Shiro did not answer, so she forced her eyes open as she turned to face him. "Hey, what n-"

Shiro was gone.

Everyone was gone, every_thing_ was gone. There was only blackness around her now.

Sakura panicked, quickly standing to her feet and reaching for a kunai. Had this all been a trick? Was this a genjutsu, perhaps? She pressed her hands together and tried to force her chakra from her system, but she couldn't _feel_ her chakra anymore. It was like she'd been cut from it completely.

"Hey!" She called out, desperately. "What the hell is going on, what have you done to me?"

She turned, and then she saw the obsidian stone again.

It was large, towering over her, at least twenty feet in height. Despite the darkness around her, Sakura could see her reflection within the stone. She saw the frightened look in her eyes, saw her hands shakily clutching her kunai close to her chest, her legs shifted into a battle stance. And she saw a mark at the center of her forehead, a mark that spread outwards and began to cover her face in strange stripes and circles, downwards across her neck and eventually spreading across her entire body.

And then Sakura saw something creeping up on her reflection, long twisting vines that wrapped around her arms and legs and pulled her back in a sudden, jerking motion, twisting everything out of her view.

Then she saw herself sitting cross-legged before the altar, Shiro next to her, and _Sakura had been quiet for a while now, was she alright? That man hadn't done something to her, had she?_ She reached out towards herself, but Shiro turned and put a finger to his lips.

"It would be unwise to disturb her, Sai. Jashin has blessed her with visions. If you wake her now, we will need to start the process over again."

Visions..._Sai_…

She was looking through _Sai's_ eyes.

Of _course_, that was what had _always_ happened when the visions occurred, looking through the eyes of another, believing herself to _be_ that person until the vision had passed. She had seen through Sai _and_ Gaara before, seen through others too, others she didn't know, others she _did_ know, but _how_? How was it possible? Could she see through anyone's eyes? And what of the visions of the past? (And what about the _future_?)

"Why don't we have such visions?" She heard herself, no, _Sai_ ask aloud. "Can we not meditate and receive them as well?"

"You can." Shiro answered. "But as Sakura is Jashin's chosen, they will come more easily to her. She has many questions now, and they will take time to answer. I would suspect, as of now, she is currently looking through the eyes of one of you, so that Jashin may help her understand the nature of her visions."

"Through our eyes?"

"Precisely." She saw Shiro look Sai in the eyes, and Sakura could have sworn there was a knowing glint there, as though he _knew_ she could hear this somehow. "All humans share chakra from one source. At the beginning of all things was the Rabbit Princess, Kaguya, and from her came Hagoromo and Hamura, and from they came all shinobi. So long as one bears the chakra inherited from the Rabbit Princess, so it is that they are connected to their fellows. So it is that we can understand each other. So it is that Jashin can allow us to see through each other's eyes. It is through this connection that Sakura likely watches us now."

_Chakra from the Rabbit Princess...the mother of the Sage of Six Paths. Like the murals in Takigakure._

Sakura looked down suddenly, and saw that Sai was holding up his hands to reveal eight of his fingers outstretched.

"Well, if she's _really_ seeing through our eyes, she'll know how many fingers I'm holding up when I ask her."

"No doubt about it." Shiro chuckled to himself. "As he has with all his priests, Jashin will show her the present. Then, as he has with all his chosen, Jashin will show her the past. It will take time, so I would get comfortable."

Shiro's voice echoed, and Sakura blinked, and the scene around her began to shift again, rapidly at first.

She saw familiar scenes, the battle that had taken place outside the temple, quickly interchanging viewpoints between herself, Sai, and Gaara. She saw the battle against Danzo, saw through _Naruto's_ eyes, saw through _Ino_'_s_ eyes, saw even through _Danzo's_ eyes as Naruto rushed down upon him with the full force of the Rasenshuriken and felt _pain_, _blistering pain_ as the jutsu tore through his body.

She saw her battle against the masked man in the Uchiha compound, her battle against Itachi and Kisame, her battle against the Takigakure demons, her training with Onoki, her battle with Hiroshi...it was as if time was slowly rewinding and she was seeing her past through different perspectives, the perspectives of her friends, her enemies, _everyone_…

She saw five of her friends, shinobi she had grown up with, and she saw through Naruto's eyes as he promised her that he would bring Sasuke back. She saw through the eyes of each as they took on Orochimaru's henchmen in turn, and then the scene shifted and she was standing upon a great statue of Hashirama Senju, calling out Sasuke's name with all the fury and despair that she could manage.

And then she heard Sasuke's name being called behind her, and she was standing in turn on top of a great statute of Madara Uchiha, and she turned to see Naruto behind her, annoying, _troublesome_ Naruto who just couldn't let things be, couldn't let him pursue what only _Orochimaru_ could give.

She saw through each of their eyes as they charged each other, trading blow after blow, building chakra in their hands and roaring with unbridled rage and sorrow as they thrust their jutsu against each other.

"_When I'm with you...I think it's kind of like having a brother."_

"_I can't bring you into this Naruto...this darkness is __**my**_ _burden to bear…"_

_Darkness…_

_...burden…_

…_...__**curse**_…

It was dark, and though there was no rain there was a deep rumble of thunder in the distance that echoed even over the roar of the river. Across the river, _he_ stood. He'd been expecting this, he'd been expecting him to come. This was the only way to show him. This was the only way to make him _see_.

And then Sakura _was_ the man, and her heart ached as she saw _him_ for the first time in a year, where had he _been_, where had he _gone_, and why had he suddenly shown up now after all this time, daring her to come find him out in the unclaimed wilds?

"Madara…" She whispered, knowing the man would hear her despite the roar around them.

The man turned and grinned, and she was seeing through his eyes again. She felt jubilation at seeing her partner's face again, seeing the one man who could contest him, the one man who had ever brought him joy and passion, the one man who could potentially _understand_…

She screamed out his name to the heavens, in a laughing, maniacal manner.

"**Hashirama!**"

She spread her arms wide, as though inviting him to come closer. "I've found the answer!" She announced with glee. "The answer to everything, hidden within my clan's heritage stone! We can end this conflict forever! We can bring peace to the shinobi world and build the world into what we always desired! I have seen it! I know what I must do!"

The vision snapped in and out of focus, and she was Hashirama again, and _had Madara gone absolutely mad? _"Madara, what have you _done_?" She pleaded. "The Kyuubi will _destroy_ the village if you allow it near! The village _we_ worked to create!"

"The village means nothing now. None of it will matter. Once I have the power of the Tailed Beasts within me, I can wrest all the world under my thumb, and there will never be war again!"

_He really __**had**_ _gone mad..._and Sakura ached, for whatever had been left of Madara before his defeat at the hands of the Tsuchikage, whatever was left of her _friend_, it was gone now, gone beneath red, spiraling eyes…

"No, Madara." She shook her head. "This won't bring peace. This will only make you a tyrant. Come home, Madara. Come home and stand by my side and let us do this _right_!"

But she knew, then, that Madara would not come. Madara had been _lost_.

Sakura saw _battle_ through the eyes of the two men, a great, ferocious battle that was unlike anything she'd ever experienced in her lifetime. She felt power flow through her fingertips and _forests_ raised at her command, she felt chakra bleed into her eyes and the _Kyuubi_ bowed beneath her will. She swung her gunbai, and she swung her massive sword, and she clashed with herself through the men, again and again, until exhaustion bled into her and she felt that if she took another step that she might drop dead from the effort of it, but she forced chakra into her limbs and moved even when her body would not.

She couldn't take on Madara _and_ the Kyuubi, she thought to herself as she watched through Hashirama's eyes. She would have to rely on _her_ after all.

And then Sakura saw through the eyes of a _third_ person, and she painted a seal upon her stomach and pushed chakra through the matrices, creating a vortex of power that would even draw the damned _Kyuubi_ in. If she was to be the wife of the great Hokage, she would _earn_ her place through will and blood. She was _Mito Uzumaki_, the Princess of the Land of Whirlpools and master of the sealing arts, and not even the Kyuubi would resist her will. She screamed in triumph and agony as the beast was pulled into her body, and she felt the white hot rage of chakra seeping into her own, fueling her and poisoning her all at once.

She felt betrayal as she saw through Madara's eyes once again. Hashirama hadn't come alone, he'd brought _her_ with him, and now the Kyuubi was gone and his body ached and his Sharingan was bleeding bleeding _bleeding_.

"I can do it, Hashirama…" He begged. "The Infinite Tsukuyomi can make the world _perfect_, don't you see? No more war, no more politics, nothing to stop us…"

"No, Madara." She was Hashirama again, tears clouding her vision but not her will. "That's not peace. It is a lie. An illusion."

"Then kill me now. Kill me here and now or I will make my dreams a reality until my dying breath comes, and I will not allow you nor anyone else to stop me."

Sakura closed her eyes and swung her blade.

When she opened her eyes again, she was _Asura Otsutsuki_, and her blade stopped just inches from her brother's throat. She couldn't do it, she couldn't _kill him_, no matter how far he had fallen, no matter how dark he had become. Her heart still ached, and she turned away from him.

"Go," She demanded. "And do not make this mistake again."

And then she was _Indra Otsutsuki_, bitter with defeat and seething with malice. If she could not be her father's successor, then she would build something far greater than anything _Asura_ could build, if only to prove him _wrong_. She would father a clan that would surpass the world in skill and talent and strength, and one day when his clan ruled everything, _then_ would his spirit be allowed rest.

She blinked and she was _Hagoromo Otsutsuki_, and before her were nine beasts, made from the chakra she had stored within her for decades, now given life and mind.

"There is darkness in humanity, and we may never be free of it. We must guide them down the path of peace."

She named each of the beasts in turn, giving them each a single task: protect and guide humanity away from their hate and greed. Make man worthy of the power they will one day bear.

She blinked again, and she was still Hagoromo Otsutsuki, younger now, and before her laid a mighty beast that towered above mountains and wailed with a screech that echoed through her bones and brought fear and pain to her heart. At her side was her brother, and they each cried out as they wrestled the monster's power under control, deep into the seal that Hagoromo had crafted.

_Mother_, she thought, _I am sorry_.

_Mother…_

_...mother…_

Sakura blinked, and she was _Kaguya_.

Before her was a great and mighty tree with branches that reached towards the heavens with still vigor, and its petals gently swayed with the breeze, their pink skin reflecting the light of the sun beyond it. In her hands, she held a large fruit that _pulsed_ and _echoed_. She had already taken a bite, a sweet, _sweet_ bite that had spread warmth through her fingers and toes and made her feel _powerful_ and _strong_.

She took another bite of the fruit, and then another, not at all afraid of the power beginning to seep into her. The fruit was too delicious, too sweet.

Sakura smiled.

She was dancing, the nobles of the land twirling around her and vying for her favor, she of the Great New Magic, she who could summon water with a gesture and breathe fire from her lungs.

She was _pregnant_, twins kicking within her belly, and she glowed with the pride of a new mother who would one day hold her children in her arms and see what gifts they had been blessed with.

There was _fire_ around her, fire and death and those who would _take_ her children, those who would take _her_ and use her for their own twisted, selfish greed, humanity was the same, humanity was _always the same_.

She looked towards the moon and her eyes _bled_ with power, reflecting her vision upon the world and drawing each of them under her will.

There would be peace.

There would _always_ be peace.

She was Goddess and Mother and Queen, and her sons would be safe.

She was…

She was _betrayed_.

Her sons stood before her, pulling her power from her, ripping it from her body.

"I am sorry, Mother." Each of them cried, and she did not understand, how could they _not_ understand, if they set humanity free, the darkness, the _misery_ would overtake the world once again.

She screamed in agony for the fate her children would suffer, screamed for the ones she had lost, screamed for the ones that would _be_ lost, screamed for what was to come and what had always been.

And then Sakura, the real, _real_ Sakura, opened her eyes and wept.


	66. Chapter 66

When Sakura was able to think clearly again, an hour had passed. This, Shiro informed her, was common after receiving so many visions in succession. Such visions were taxing on the mind, and generally only shared to devotees in small bits at a time. It was perhaps a compliment that Jashin had thought her worthy of receiving so much at once during an introductory meditation.

If that was the case, Sakura wasn't so sure she wanted to be worthy anymore.

She still _felt_ it, felt the raw emotions that had pulsed through her with the same intensity as it had run through each of the people she'd 'experienced'. She could still feel Kaguya's pain and betrayal, still feel Madara's rage and Hashirama's despair, could still even feel _Naruto and Sasuke_, each so desperate for their best friend to understand each other even when both were destined to walk different paths. She wasn't sure a person was meant to feel so many emotions at once, and every time she lingered on the memories, she felt her stomach curl inward on itself and felt the need to simply cry all over again.

"Why?" was the first word she managed to ask.

"What did you see?" Shiro asked her in turn.

It took time, but Sakura told them. She remembered far more than she wanted to, remembered details that sometimes even seemed _odd_ to remember. (Hashirama never _saw_ Madara's death blow, he'd closed his eyes, he'd _closed his damn eyes_.) She remembered what Sai had said aloud, holding up eight fingers in the exact pattern he had. Sai's response helped bring her back from her emotional stupor.

"That's creepy as fuck, Sakura."

She'd snorted, and the warmth of laughter and her _own_ emotion seemed to help push away what she'd received, and from there she began to feel herself bleed back in, bit by bit. It hurt less to talk about the memories, and she was able to perceive the present clearly again.

"It was a timeline." Shiro began to explain. Sakura settled in to listen, while Gaara gently rubbed at her back. (A gesture she appreciated, as it helped keep her grounded in _herself_.) "The timeline was shown to you in reverse, which is also common. It helps give you a connection to the past. The two boys you spoke of, the Jinchuuriki and the Uchiha, mirror the struggles of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, who in turn mirror the struggles of Asura and Indra Otsutsuki. This is likely no coincidence. Our disciples have followed the Otsutsuki curse through generations, and we believe that the brothers have reincarnated over the years, and those who are bound to the brothers' souls are cursed to turn against each other. It is a curse that stretches back even beyond Asura and Indra. Can you think of where such a curse would have begun, given everything you've been shown?"

Sakura nodded. To her, perhaps, it was obvious. "Kaguya." She answered simply. "The agony she felt at her sons' betrayal, it was...it was a _curse_, wasn't it?"

"We believe so." Shiro smiled with the confirmation. "Though there were many that first believed the curse started with Indra and Asura, it is now believed the curse truly began with Hagoromo and Hamura, Kaguya's sons. Though their fallout did not result in some legendary battle, there _was_ fallout. As humanity was freed from Kaguya's control, there was disagreement about how they would guide humanity to prevent the war and bloodshed that had led Kaguya into her despair and madness to begin with.

"Hagoromo believed in a direct approach. He wanted to guide humanity directly, give them advice, _lead_ them towards peace and understanding of the world. Hamura, however, believed that their direct influence would only lead to disaster. He believed in influencing the world from the shadows, watching over it and nudging it back in the right direction should something drastic be about to occur. This disagreement led to their separation. Hagoromo went out into the world, and Hamura faded into the background. They had united against their mother to defeat her, but her final act in this world was to curse them so that they and their descendants could never work in such harmony again. The curse spread down both family lines. You, Sakura, were shown Hagoromo's, because Hagoromo's line in particular has led to the events that now threaten the stability of the world."

"Madara." Sakura concluded. "It was Madara. He claimed he knew how to bring the world to peace. He...he was talking about _Kaguya's_ technique."

"The Infinite Tsukuyomi. A genjutsu of monstrous proportions that is capable of dominating the world and all the people within it. The genjutsu is reflected onto a full moon and back across the world, and until the caster is destroyed the genjutsu cannot be removed. Hagoromo and Hamura were shielded from this by their mother, but that in turn led to her downfall. The brothers learned of humanity's fate and moved against her. But though they were successful in defeating their mother, they were too late to save those who had been affected."

"Too late?" Sakura blinked in confusion. "How could they have been? Humanity is still _here_."

"That, you see, is where _Kaguya_ failed." Shiro explained. "She did _not_ put the entirety of the world under her genjutsu, but rather the invading people that had ravaged her country in search of her power. She never looked beyond them."

"She wanted to keep her sons safe." Sakura confirmed. "With the invaders put under genjutsu, there was no need to worry about people too far away to affect them."

"But what of the invaders?" Sai questioned. "Did they simply perish under the genjutsu's control?"

"That is what we have assumed."

"Then why put them in a genjutsu at all?" Sai scribbled notes, thinking aloud as he did so. "Why not simply slaughter them? Would it not have been kinder than prolonged starvation?"

"She wanted peace, I think." Sakura continued the thought. "Maybe in her own twisted way, that was a mercy. Maybe she thought she was better than them for not making them suffer in death?" But even that didn't seem right, and she knew that Sai agreed when he flashed her a disbelieving look.

"There is still much we haven't learned." Shiro admitted. "The further back in time, the fewer the memories we have. Even what you have received is the bulk of what we know of Kaguya's era. We are uncertain how, but we believe Madara uncovered the secret of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and intended to use it to dominate the entirety of the shinobi world."

"Then why didn't he? Hashirama wouldn't have stood a chance, right?"

"Madara is no Kaguya. He simply did not have the power required."

And then it hit Sakura all at once. The power of the Tailed Beasts. Why Madara had controlled the Kyuubi, what he had told Hashirama...why _Akatsuki_ was seeking Tailed Beasts now…

"The Tailed Beasts...they were created from the chakra that Hagoromo sealed away from his mother. If the power of the Tailed Beasts came together…"

"Whomever wielded such power would be equal to her strength." Shiro confirmed. "An ultimate Jinchuuriki, capable of crafting the Infinite Tsukuyomi as she did. It is clearly Akatsuki's goal to carry on Madara's will."

"Ironic." Gaara spoke up. "Her curse would then, in a way, lead to her own desires being realized once again."

"If we let it happen." Sakura shook her head. "And we won't."

"We of Jashin's way agree." Shiro's smile only seemed to grow at Sakura's proclamation. "Whatever the flaws of the world, a universal genjutsu will not solve our problems. That, all of us here agree upon. It is why we sent one of our Chosen to infiltrate Akatsuki's ranks. It is why we have trained to defend our world, should the worst come to pass. It is why we have prayed day and night that Jashin second Chosen would come and aid us."

"...and you think that Chosen is me?"

"Sakura, I am certain of it. Jashin has shown all of us visions of you. We have known of your coming for quite some time, and hoped that his gifts and visions would lead you to us. Much as Hidan has been given the gift of Mutual Destruction, so you have been given the gift of Mutual Preservation."

Healing, Sakura remembered. "When I healed Sai, I don't...I never figured out how I did it."

"That is what we must teach you. What we will teach you, should you allow us. Healing, protection, and knowledge we offer to the Chosen of the Jushisai, those who follow the Calm Path."

Sakura certainly wouldn't say no to any of those things. Knowledge and teaching, especially regarding her strange gifts...of _course_ she would agree to it. But…

"I...don't know if I can accept. Not now, anyway." She shook her head. "I wish I could stay and learn, I _do_, but if anything these visions have just affirmed that I don't have time to waste. Akatsuki might be going after the Kumo and Kiri Jinchuuriki as we speak, they might even be sending people after Gaara. Time is of the _essence_, isn't it?"

"It is. But not so much as you currently think. Hidan is our intelligence, do you not remember? We see through his eyes and know what he knows. Managing the Tailed Beasts is no easy task. They cannot simply just pull the Beast from its host and shove it into another person on the spot. There is complex sealwork required to maneuver such powerful chakra. Akatsuki's goal, first and foremost, has been creating a vessel to store the captured Beasts until such time as they can be maneuvered into a new host. They have been taking on mercenary work to garner the funds to do so."

Collecting bounties, Sakura realized, which is what Hidan and Kakuzu _had_ been doing when she'd met them.

"Those funds take time to get. And this vessel is not just a simple container. It will be used to merge the chakra of the Beasts into one chakra, so that a host is not struggling to maintain the consciousnesses of nine separate entities."

Gaara let out a sudden growl at this, and spoke with the voice of Shukaku. "**Of course the bastards don't care about the **_**minds**_ **they'll be destroying in this process. Just the power they'll be getting.**"

"They don't care about minds at all." Sai added. "It's not as though someone using a universal genjutsu gives two shits about the minds they're affecting, only that they're affected."

"But fusing nine Bijuu? That must be an insane jutsu to even manage it in the first place! Who would even have the power to do that to begin with?"

"That would likely be Akatsuki's leader." Shiro answered. "It is true that such a statue requires careful construction, and powering such an effect requires a uniquely powerful shinobi. Akatsuki's leader...all Hidan has told us is that it is a man with eyes of great power."

"Madara." Sakura whispered. "It _has_ to be Madara, he survived somehow and worked from the shadows."

"It is a definite possibility. But this knowledge has given us a timeline. The statue is nowhere near completion yet. It will take at least another year, if not longer, for Akatsuki to acquire funding for their project and see it complete. In the meanwhile, they have gathered information on each of the Jinchuuriki so that they may more easily acquire them when the time comes to act, which is why Konoha correctly theorized their true intent. Regardless, Sakura, we _do_ have time. Even if you allowed us but a month, that would still leave you the better part of a year to spread the word of Akatsuki's intent and prepare the world for their efforts. So I ask you again, Sakura, knowing this...will you allow us to teach you?"

A year...supposedly, they had a _year_ before Akatsuki would truly push themselves into motion. A year to prepare herself and the rest of the world. A year, funnily enough, to try and pull _Sasuke_ from the clutches of Orochimaru as well. Everything would be coming to a head a year from now…

They had survived the fight with Danzo, yes, but Sakura still doubted she could hold a candle to Madara Uchiha. Plus, there was still the matter of Itachi _and_, potentially, Obito, both of whom seemed to have unique Sharingan techniques and both of whom had proclaimed some manner of loyalty to Akatsuki. Not counting the _other_ S-ranked shinobi of course...Sakura now had reason to believe that she at least didn't have Hidan to worry about, if he was simply a Jashinist mole, but there were still others…

Was it selfish of her to want to say yes? To want to try and learn, to get strong enough to take Akatsuki on? Every day spent here was a delay reaching the remaining shinobi countries, was a delay on saving Sasuke...but every day spent here might potentially increase her odds of success. Sakura glanced over to Sai and Gaara, both of whom seemed to be considering the offer themselves, but waiting for her lead. She could imagine, though, what each might be thinking.

_Do what you think is right_, Gaara would no doubt say, _and I will be with you every step of the way._

Supportive, but not necessarily helpful in narrowing down a decision.

And what would Sai be thinking?

Probably, no, _undoubtedly_ he would be trying to consider an option that maximized what she could learn from the Jashinists and still allow time to reach their own goals. Was there a ratio, Sakura wondered, of time spent here and time spent traveling that would allow for the best possible chance of success?

"Three months." Sai suddenly spoke up. "At the minimum, but I would say at the end of three months would be a good time to reevaluate the situation and determine if the timeline has been hastened by factors outside of our control. If things are moving slowly, we could stay longer. Either way, this is a well-guarded, difficult to find enclave in the middle of a country that is known for not _having_ shinobi. If Akatsuki even thought to look for us here, it would take some time to find us, and they would have to get through the entire enclave before even reaching Gaara. And...they need Gaara to complete their goals." He gave a shrug. "So, in a way, _we_ determine the timeline. Not to throw the others under, but so long as Gaara is hidden and safe, they can't merge the Beasts and they can't start the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The true limiting factor of our time here is how much you desire to make sure Akatsuki doesn't harm any of the other Jinchuuriki before reaching us. And...I do know you have a bit of a soft spot for Brainless back in Konoha."

Sakura gently swatted Sai's arm at the nickname. "Yes, I would prefer it if Naruto wasn't harmed by Akatsuki either. And Fuu, and Han and Roshi as well...and the other Jinchuuriki we have yet to meet. They're all people too, people worth protecting."

"The Bijuu as well." Gaara added. "This isn't just about the Jinchuuriki anymore. The lives of the Bijuu are at stake."

"So...we can't stay here and try to hide away forever. We need to learn what we can, get stronger, and then do what we can to get the world ready." Sakura turned to face Shiro, giving him a respectful bow. "With your permission, then, I would like to request the tutelage of your enclave for, at least, the three months that Sai has mentioned, if not longer should the time allow it."

Shiro smiled and bowed in turn. "Chosen, it would be a privilege and an honor. And if you are willing to assist in the work here at the enclave, we can provide meals and shelter for you and your companions as well."

"Work?"

"We maintain farms on land nearby, and trade for cattle meat with Yugakure. We take on work in neighboring villages to provide income for our disciples, and at times the disciples of the Violent Path will take on mercenary work for the country, clearing out ruffians and bandits that threaten the peace of the land. Work that you will no doubt be used to doing as shinobi."

"Easy enough, then." Sakura agreed. "I think we'll take you up on it."

"Then shall I show you to your rooms?"

"Wait. One more question." Sakura was surprised to see Sai hold up a hand. "You said that Kaguya's curse had affected the lines of Hagoromo and Hamura. Are you not a descendant of Hamura? Would the curse affect us here?"

"A good question, young man, so I will ask you this in turn." Shiro's smile turned into a knowing grin. "Why do you think the Calm and Violent Paths came to be in the first place?"

"...I assumed it was a religious divergence of sorts."

"It was the curse." Shiro answered simply. "But unlike Hagoromo's line, Hamura's line embraced the divide in mentality. As I mentioned to you, one of Hamura's daughters went to found the Hyuuga clan, and the other moved here to Yugakure with her father to meditate and form the Jashinist enclave. That daughter, Soma Otsutsuki, had two children of her own. It is said that Soma's children might have come to fight each other in time, much as Indra and Asura did...but it is also said that Jashin came to the children in dreams, speaking to each of them and showing them that while they were powerful individuals alone...together they could accomplish wonderful things. One founded the Calm Path, the other, the Violent Path. And from them came Jashinism and everything since."

"Then...who is Jashin?"

"Our god." Shiro replied. When Sai responded with a disbelieving frown, Shiro simply laughed. "Anything more than that, you'll have to decide for yourself."

* * *

The Chosen were traditionally given access to the rooms first made and used by Soma's children. One section was currently under lock and key: Hidan's rooms. The other section was 'given' to her and the boys to use as they saw fit. There were comfortable beds, an impressive use of indoor plumbing considering how far beneath the earth they were, and plenty of other rooms that could be used for personal training, study, or even just relaxation. The space might as well have been considered a small house, and Sakura certainly wasn't going to complain. There was even a small hot spring in one of the rooms that she _fully_ planned on taking advantage of.

There was a history to the rooms that Sakura found herself wrapped up in. Wall scrolls depicting various Chosen from the past, reading scrolls depicting unique jutsu and personal accounts of history, and even some ceremonial outfits that had been preserved since the enclave's founding. As the three of them settled in for the night, exhausted from both the earlier battle and the tour of the enclave, Sakura picked one of the scrolls to read, pleased to find what appeared to be a diary of a previous Chosen who had lived in a time before the founding of the Hidden Villages, and even before the Warring States. Sai and Gaara settled in their own ways. Sai had essentially claimed an entire table for working on his sealwork, stating that he planned on working out a safer version of the Hiraishin 'even if it killed him'.

Gaara, on the other hand, was _still_ working on the puzzle box.

He had found a comfortable armchair and had sat down with Emi curled up in his lap. For an hour at least he fiddled with the box, and Sakura noticed with a smile that he was getting a bit more adept at using his chakra to manipulate the parts. But it was to all of their surprises when, all at once, the box made a noticeable 'click' and opened.

The room had already been quiet, but it seemed to get a different sort of silence as everyone looked towards the box. Inside, shimmering under the light, was a single golden leaf. After a moment had passed, Gaara reached to pull the leaf out, turning it over in his fingers until he saw a single kanji written on the backside of the leaf.

"...victory?"

As Gaara spoke the word, the leaf began to hiss and smoke. Gaara threw it to the ground just in time as the leaf exploded into a small burst of fireworks and even more smoke. Sand threw up around each of them as the smoke cleared, though it slowly trickled back to Gaara's side as the three of them realized that now standing in the center of the room was another tanuki.

The leaf had been some sort of summoning apparatus, Sakura realized, and this tanuki was recognizable as a tanuki, but at the same time looked nothing like Emi did. This one stood on two legs and wore a stylish red scarf. It carried a large scroll on its back, with gold leaves seemingly embroidered into the very fabric of the scroll. The tanuki looked around for a moment, confused until they finally set eyes on Gaara.

"Ah, so you're the one."

Gaara blinked. "I'm...the one?"

"The one who opened the box. Shukaku's boy."

Both Sakura and Sai couldn't help but snort at the mention. "Shukaku's boy?" Sakura whispered in Sai's direction. "We _can't_ let him live that down."

Even Gaara seemed a bit confused at that, looking downward at himself before looking back at the tanuki. "I...did open the box. And Shukaku is with me."

"Good." The tanuki nodded. "Then you're the boy I'm lookin' for. Took you a while on the box, did it?" They waddled towards Gaara, taking the open box from his hands and examining it. "Well, you didn't break it open, at least, so you must have some promise."

"Why are you here?" Gaara blurted out.

"Oh, that's easy. You wanna sign the scroll, right?"

"I do?"

"Yeah, you do. You'll be the first one to sign it in a century or so, I think." The tanuki maneuvered the scroll from their back to the ground, unrolling it in a smooth motion. "You sign it, you get to roll with us. Didn't Shukaku tell you all about it?"

"...no."

"Ha! That's just like him."

As the two spoke, Emi hopped down from Gaara's lap and sniffed at the scroll. She then sat on top of it, turning to face Gaara with a happy, lopsided sort of grin. It was this that prompted Gaara to lean forward to examine the scroll. There were names written on the scroll, and beneath each name was a series of fingerprints.

"It's a summoning scroll."

"Of _course_ it's a summoning scroll. But it's more than that. You can put your name on the scroll if you think you're ready. But if you wanna summon us, you gotta earn it. You gotta pass our trials. You put your name on the scroll, I take you home with me and we see what you're made of."

Gaara recoiled from this at first. "Home? I can't leave here." He answered immediately. "I have to keep these two safe."

"Then you don't get to roll with us. Sorry, I don't make the rules."

"Is there no other way?"

"You gotta do the trials. No other way."

"And how long will the trials take?" Sakura spoke up. She could tell where this conversation would go already; Gaara was a bit stubborn about leaving her, but in this particular case, Sakura knew it was time to try and push him away from the nest. This was a _summoning scroll_, she would have _killed_ for a chance at signing a summoning scroll. Most animal summons were passed down through clans or from master to apprentice, and though there were many different kinds of animal summons, it was incredibly difficult to gain the allegiance of a summoning clan unless you knew someone who had said allegiance. Sakura didn't know anyone who summoned tanuki, and _this_ tanuki was claiming Gaara would be the first to do so in over a century. He couldn't turn the opportunity down, he just _couldn't_.

"A week for the trials. We might drag him back for training, though, if he passes."

"Just a _week_, Gaara you _have_ to do it!" Sakura insisted. "It's a _summoning_ scroll, do you know how helpful it would be to have summons around?"

"But…I'll be leaving you."

"Leaving me in the most secret religious enclave in the _world_, I'm as safe as I can possibly get!"

"And what about Gaara?" Sai spoke up. "We established that keeping him safe is a top priority, is it not? We're sending him to an unknown location to meet with unknown entities. That's a pretty big risk."

"They know Shukaku." Sakura pointed out. "So Shukaku knows them. So Shukaku should know if it's safe, right?"

They looked to Gaara, who was silent for a moment before nodding his head. "Shukaku is...he knows them."

"Besides, haven't you heard of the summoning lands?" The tanuki looked back towards Sakura. "They're hard as hell to reach if you don't know where you're going. Any other person would have to travel for weeks and know all the twists and turns. Your boy's as safe there as he is here, I'll promise you that."

"Then he _has_ to go!" Sakura insisted. "This is a once in a lifetime chance, Gaara, and you're going to be bored out of your mind just watching me train, aren't you? This gives you something to do too! You know, Lady Tsunade supposedly crafted some of her novel medical jutsu from working with the slugs, so who knows what you could learn from tanuki!"

"My family _has_ a summoning contract…" Gaara protested weakly. "With the weasels…"

"Oh _please_, do you really think silly weasels are as great as tanuki?" The tanuki puffed up his chest with pride at the statement. "We're masters of disguise and trickery! Great protectors of nature! And we have crafted special ninjutsu that was used by shinobi for generations until our summoners became few and far between. Now you _have_ to come along now, if you think a little _weasel_ can hold a candle to us!"

"Alright, alright, you're not like the weasels."

Gaara stood up at this, pacing around the room slowly and occasionally glancing up at Sai and Sakura.

"Just a week?" He asked.

"Just a week. And if we drag you back after that, we'll have you home for dinner. Your little girlfriend don't have to worry."

Gaara turned bright red at that, and Sakura giggled. "Do it." She insisted. "It'll be worth it, Gaara, you know it will. And we'll be alright while you're gone."

"Every time you say that, something horrible happens while you're away."

"...okay I can't actually argue that one, but we've gotten unlucky. I doubt something bad will happen _again_, and if it does…" Sakura stood up to scoop Emi off the ground. "We'll send Emi to get you! Because she can find you guys, right? She's the one that delivered the box."

"...you promise you won't do anything rash?"

"She can't promise that, it's Sakura." Sai piped up. Sakura hushed him by dropped Emi into his lap.

"I won't be rash." She insisted. "I'll be here, training with Shiro and the other disciples. When you come back, I will be exactly where you have left me, and so will Sai."

"...alright, then."

Sakura could tell that Gaara was still torn, but even he could see the value of having the alliance of the tanuki. Emi had helped save their lives on multiple occasions, and that was just _one_ tanuki.

"Alright." Gaara repeated. "I'll do your trials."

"Perfect." The tanuki grinned, gesturing towards the scroll. "Sign your name on the scroll with a little blood, and place your fingerprints beneath. Then we'll take you on your way."

Gaara looked at the scroll for a moment, looking as though he was about to find. Then, he suddenly turned towards Sakura again, walking towards her and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Be safe."

"I will."

Sakura was slightly surprised to see Gaara go to say his farewell to Sai as well, and even more surprised when Sai reluctantly allowed Gaara to pull him into an awkward sort of side hug.

"Don't be an idiot." Sai told him.

"Only if you don't." Gaara retorted with a smile.

Gaara returned to the scroll, kneeling down in front of it. He watched it, holding up his hand and looking it over before a frown came to his face.

"...my sand won't let me bleed."

Sakura couldn't help it; this time she burst into full blown laughter, not even having considered the hurdle Gaara might have to overcome to summon. She saw the tanuki put a small furry paw against their forehead in disbelief.

"Really, kid? You can't bleed?"

Gaara shook his head, holding out his hand for the tanuki to see. The tanuki lashed out with a sharp claw, only to be rebuffed by Gaara's sand.

"...well, shit, kid. Can't you ask Shukaku to take a break for a hot minute?"

"It's not Shukaku that controls it." Gaara admitted, which was actually news to Sakura as well. "Shukaku says it's my own chakra, but...I can't control that very well either. So I'm not sure. It's always protected me, ever since I was little."

"_Shit_, well ain't that a kick in the pants. Alright, we're going to have to work around that somehow, but for now we gotta get you to the other side. If your blood won't do it…" The tanuki looked around before walking over to Sai. "Got some ink? That ain't got any of your chakra in it."

Sai handed them a bottle and the tanuki walked it over to Gaara. "Spit in this. It's still technically got you in it, so we might be able to make it work. Tanuki are masters of improv, don't you know?"

Gaara wrinkled his nose at the idea, but still spit into the bottle. He reluctantly swirled the ink around with his finger before using it to sign his name on the scroll.

"Alright. Let's give it a whirl."

The tanuki rolled the scroll back up and slung it over their shoulder. Then, they reached out to put a paw on Gaara's hand.

"To Shikoku, then!"

With a strange blackened puff of smoke, both Gaara and the tanuki vanished.

* * *

For the first time in his life, Sai wasn't really quite sure what to do with himself.

Under Root, there was always _something_ to do. Missions, and if not missions, training, and if not training, research. If you weren't doing one of those three things, you weren't being _useful_.

Under Sakura, there had never been expectations, but Sai had defaulted to training or research regardless. If not those, he worked on his art, and under Sakura he had a lot more _time_ for his art...but that was all he had. Sakura tried to help him find 'hobbies', but it was difficult to find the motivation to do something that _wasn't_ useful. His art was useful. It fueled his techniques. Games, recreational reading, even simply 'relaxing'...none of those were useful, so why were they worth doing?

He was starting to realize, now, why people outside of Root had hobbies. At a certain point, one just couldn't train anymore without damaging themselves, couldn't research anymore without straining their mind. As Sakura went off into the enclave to begin her training with the Jushisai, Sai realized that a brand new emotion was beginning to make itself known to him.

Boredom.

He wasn't fearing for his life anymore. Danzo was dead, and Root was under the firm thumbs of Tenzo and Kakashi. Akatsuki were around, sure, but the enclave was well hidden and Sai allowed himself to feel a bit of ease in a place that had dozens of 'disciples' to protect it, all of whom would have made more than capable shinobi in a proper hidden village.

He defaulted to art because that was what he _had_. He picked a room where several people were training and, once he was certain he wasn't going to get kicked out, he drew. But even drawing felt a bit lackluster at this point. It wasn't Sakura...and he didn't want to make her feel guilty by following her around constantly with nothing to do. And the people here weren't particularly interesting at a glance, so they weren't really worthy his artistic eye.

It was on the evening of their first day in the enclave when the solution presented itself rather dramatically.

"You're one of the boys that came with the Chosen. I remember you."

The woman from the outside, the one who had given them their 'entrance exam', came to sit next to him as he drew. Her scars were even more prominent up close; jagged marks that no doubt came from kunai and shuriken cuts, as well as a few other marks from wounds Sai couldn't immediately identify. Her hair was cut short, showing off all the marks on her head rather than attempting to cover them...like she was proud of them, in a way. She grinned, and Sai saw that she was missing a single tooth.

"You're the one with the smart mouth."

"My brain is smart." Sai retorted. "My mouth is incapable of personality."

"Ah, see, that's the kind of funny shit I like to hear from a guy." Sai flinched as she suddenly wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You've got spunk, you know that? And your little inky things pack a hell of a punch. So what do you say you come have fun with my crew, huh?"

"Your crew?" Well, Sai _was_ bored...and Sakura was always telling him he needed to have more fun. "Who does this involve?"

"My _crew_. You know, the people who tried to kill you outside?" The woman rolled her eyes. "Besides, you've got talent. And every one of those stinky Calm Path folk needs one of _us_ to look after them, so if you roll with us for a bit, you'll technically count for Pinkie."

One of them…

"You're...of the Hageshisai?"

"Damn straight, now you've got your head one right. Come on. Let us show you what a _real_ disciple of Jashin does for a good time."

Sai looked back down at his sketchbook, filled with half doodles and sketches that definitely weren't holding his interest. Yes...he was definitely bored. And Sakura couldn't fault him for trying something new.

"Alright. Show me what you do for fun, then."


	67. Act Two Epilogue

A healer had once told him that as his vision faded, he shouldn't be surprised to see spots and particles where there shouldn't be, flecks and 'floaters' as his eyes tore themselves apart. To Itachi, they occasionally looked like ash, like small pieces of burning waste that would flicker through the air as a fire began to slowly wind down.

He was seeing more of them now, flecks of ash circling around the ghosts that haunted him more clearly now than ever before, though not nearly as clear as the knowledge that everything he'd done had potentially been for nothing, had been a _lie_.

"You'd told me all along." Itachi whispered, more to himself than to his partner next to him. He'd thought he'd known _better_, of course. The world was full of lies to a common man, but he, Itachi Uchiha, saw beneath the beneath, saw the truth of the world and what was needed to make peace, to make a world where his brother would be _safe_. All lies, of _course_ it was all lies. What else would it have been? What else _could_ it have been? Of all the things his father had ever told him, it was only now that some of his words were starting to ring true.

_"They only see us for our eyes, Itachi, and now Kakashi has shown them that even our bodies aren't necessary to use them. They fear us, and they desire us, and they will use that against us."_

"If it makes any difference…" Kisame commented. "Your situation is a lot more fucked up than I was thinking when I told you that."

Perhaps it was some measure of insanity, but Kisame's thoughts brought a low chuckle out of Itachi then.

"You'd think with these eyes I should have seen it coming."

"They often say that about Madara and his death, if that helps."

"So far as you or I are aware, Madara has not died."

"And you're an idiot if you think that man is Madara after all you've just learned."

"An idiot I am, Kisame, having killed my entire clan so that an old man could abuse a power he did not fully have the means to control."

"Then are you ready to stop being an idiot and admit that I'm right?"

Itachi's smile was dark, but he found he could not wipe it from his face. "No, actually, I can't. After all, there's still one remaining contradiction to your claim."

"Oh?"

"You've never lied to me once, Kisame. Never once."

Kisame grinned, his sharp teeth rubbing against each other with a sound that caused Itachi to shiver even now. "Not as far as you know."

"Not as far as I know." Itachi agreed. "Which means you are either the most strangely honest man I have ever met, or else someone who has jumped through quite a lot of mental hoops to convince himself that the world isn't worth his time anymore, and I find I can't quite decide which you are, yet. And perhaps I never will."

"You're overthinking it. I _like_ you. You're one of the only ones who seems to give a damn about the world still."

"But you don't?"

"World never gave a damn about me, and I don't give a damn about it."

"So you work with Akatsuki."

"A world of truth sounds like as fun a fantasy as any to strive for. Even if it is all lies and pipe dreams. And when the time comes…" Kisame's hand shifted on the Samehada, and Itachi could feel the sword's energy writhing with a desire to _maim, _to _kill_.

"...I'll get to fight some pretty strong opponents."

Itachi chuckled again, and the laugh turned into a deep, retching cough. It had gotten worse since the fight with Danzo, much worse, and yet Itachi still could not bring himself to end his own suffering one way or another. He deserved it, after all. Deserved all the pain and misery, deserved it for what he had done, what he had failed to do.

"Better motivation than I." Itachi admitted as the fit passed. "What do I have now? Konoha allowed my clan to suffer out of greed for power. But I have forsaken my clan for the _sake_ of Konoha. If I continue as I am now, here in Akatsuki, knowing what they _did_…"

"You'd be just as much of a traitorous bastard as the rest of us."

"I used to think I was above the lot of you."

"Now _that's_ stupid thinking."

"It was the thoughts of Itachi the Genius. The one who played the long game. Who tiptoed around allegiances without ever showing his true hand, who worked for the good of his village even when the village condemned him. 'For the glory of Konoha', he always said. Like somehow we had any glory left in us. Like there was something worth sacrificing all of me for."

"So what will you do now? Knowing Konoha is just as much a crapstain as the rest of the world?"

"I…"

It was _the_ question. What _would_ he do? He had no desire to maintain giving Konoha information on Akatsuki's movements, but in turn he had no true desire to help Akatsuki. He wasn't worthy of attempting to revive his clan; that fell to Sasuke now, Sasuke who was meant to be his savior, his honorable death.

But Sasuke was not yet ready. And until then…

"I don't know. I've never been allowed to choose, before."

"And now you have a plethora of bad choices at your feet."

"Are there no good choices, then?"

"Only if you believe in such a thing as 'good'."

Itachi was surprised by this. Not by the statement, not, but rather that despite everything, a part of him still _did_.

The world was stained with lies and deceit. But that implied there was something pure beneath to _be_ stained. Something deep beneath the ashes that just needed..._something_.

Itachi wasn't sure what it needed, and maybe he wasn't the right one to know.

Konoha or Akatsuki. Then death. Two choices.

...right?

"Kisame."

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm somewhat tired of being a genius. I think, perhaps, it is time I do something foolish of my own accord and not be led into it by someone else."

"Oh?"

"And you're going to join me."

"...hmm. Yeah, there's a chance I might."

"Come, then." Itachi stood. "First things first. I need to meet with Madara."

"The corpse or the alive one?" Kisame asked, a cheeky tone in his voice. Itachi smiled back in turn.

"Both."

* * *

Hidan hated 'team meetings', and found satisfaction only in the knowledge that everyone else seemed to hate them too.

It was easier when they _weren't_ meeting in person. With the fuzzy holograms, Hidan could afford to scratch his nose or make funny facial expressions and nobody else could really tell. In person, he was supposed to have a _semblance_ of decorum, which was nigh im-fucking-possible when a _blasphemer_ was standing around all high and mighty telling them what was what and who went where.

(Even more infuriating was the knowledge that Hidan couldn't smite the fucker where he stood. He was reckless, but he wasn't _that_ stupid. Jashin had, for _whatever_ reason, blessed Pein with incredible destructive power, and while Hidan knew Pein couldn't kill him, he did know Pein could make his life an absolute hell trying.)

"So you're telling me…" Hidan leaned lazily against a nearby stone pillar. "You're telling me little Pinkie Hotshot dragged Konoha into a civil war and made three countries triple the security on their Jinchuuriki and you're _not_ going to let me have a go at her?"

"The answer is no, Hidan, and that is final."

"But you'll send Dei and fuckin' Master of Puppets instead?" Hidan growled back. "Kakuzu and I at least have fucking _met_ her before! If Itachi fuckin' Uchiha got thrown off a cliff fighting her, I'd think you need the damn Zombie Combo on it, don't you think?"

"Are you doubting my art, Hidan? I don't think whatever she has going for her will protect her from an _explosive_." Deidara snipped back. And Deidara was probably right, but at this point, at this fucking point, it was Hidan's damned _job_ to keep Akatsuki off her back.

_When I said to become Jashin's disciple, I didn't mean get chosen for the damned Calm Path!_

"Ichibi." Kakuzu countered, and Hidan felt a measurable sense of relief to know that his partner was...wait, why _was_ Kakuzu on his side? "The Jinchuuriki has a mastery of sand shields that will likely provide adequate protection against bombing. Penetrating it will likely require skilled use of lightning release, of which I am the sole person here besides our leader with any experience."

"So we separate the Ichibi from her, easy." Deidara shrugged. "Let Sasori handle the Ichibi and I'll blow your little Pinkie Hotshot out of the picture one on one."

"Besides, you're missing the bigger picture." Sasori spoke up, his voice wooden and jerky as it was forced through the mouth of his puppet shell. "My intelligence shows that she plans on heading to Otogakure in attempt to sway Orochimaru onto that treaty. I maintain a healthy spy network in Oto, which means I am the most familiar with the area, and the most capable of preparing it for a quick takedown."

"Assuming Orochimaru tolerates your presence." Kakuzu retorted. "I seem to recall the two of you didn't get on very well."

"And how many of your previous partners have you killed?"

"Your statement does not negate my own."

"I have leverage. He might have left, but he desires our allyship far more than he'll desire the girl's."

"Then it is settled."

Pein spoke up at last, no doubt having grown tired of the bickering. And if Kakuzu couldn't talk his way into it, Hidan knew he couldn't press his luck.

_Damn it all, Jashin, why did you put me in here if you won't let me do my damned __**job**__?_

"Sasori, Deidara. You will make preparations and be ready to obtain the Ichibi and eliminate Sakura Haruno upon their arrival to Oto. Hidan, Kakuzu, the two of you will head into Lightning Country and begin reconnaissance on their own Jinchuuriki. I will send Itachi and Kisame into Kiri once we regain contact with them."

"And you, oh illustrious leader?" Hidan asked dryly, making sure to let the irreverence drop from his voice.

"I will be preparing to send a message to the allied shinobi nations." Pein answered. "If you make haste, I might even allow you to participate."

"Better get going then, Hidan, wouldn't want to be late." Deidara nudged him on the arm as he turned to leave. "I'd offer to save a piece of Haruno for you, but it wouldn't really be art if I left anything like that to collect, would it?"

"Suck a dick, Dei." Hidan grumbled in turn. In any other circumstance, he wouldn't _really_ be upset. Deidara was one of the most tolerable people here, and if not for the fact that he seemed to dismiss religion as 'unnecessary', Hidan would have tried to send him to the enclave months ago. Another person who understood the concept of the complete annihilation of one's foes...and Dei really _did_ have it down to an 'art'. And he didn't have a stick up his ass like most of the others did. Hidan supposed, if anyone was going to get set on Sakura, Dei was by far a good second choice.

But Sakura didn't have _his_ power. She wasn't going to be _invincible_. Her purpose was to keep others alive, not herself.

"You're more disappointed than usual." Kakuzu commented as they began the long trek out of Ame.

"And you're more interested in her than I would have thought." Hidan grouched back. "What, does she already have a bounty or something?"

"Yes, though it's mostly mercenary lords wanting her captured alive. If she has a kekkei genkai that allows her to combat the Sharingan, that makes her line valuable."

Hidan spit at that. "Fucking gross, Kakuzu, we're either killing her or I'm not gonna bother."

"The bounty isn't worth the effort. But if Sasori makes a puppet out of her…"

Hidan had to stop himself from going pale at the thought. He'd never considered it...if Sasori made puppets out of himself or Sakura, would he gain access to Jashin's blessings? And even if he didn't…

"So you want to kill her so Sasori won't get whatever ability she's got?"

"Obtaining it for myself would also be a pleasant bonus."

"Fucking hell, are you sure you don't want to go back and argue it out a little more with Leader?"

Kakuzu stopped and gestured at the road behind him. "Be my guest. It'll be amusing to watch."

"Yeah, yeah, fuck you too."

Hidan felt a gnawing in his gut, however, a gnawing he couldn't ignore. Sakura was in danger, and if he went to stop it, it would compromise his position within the Akatsuki. And which was more important? His position or his counterpart?

_Damn it all, Sakura. No matter what happens, you stay the fuck alive._

* * *

"Are you here to apologize?"

"No. But I'm the only one you can trust with your maintenance, Nagato, so you can either turn me away or risk damaging your body further."

Konan did not make eye contact as she moved closer to Nagato's apparatus, a wooden medical construct that was, in tandem with chakric healing, keeping Nagato alive. Only she and the one who called himself Madara had ever seen Nagato's true form, and it was naturally imperative to keep things that way. If anyone found out that the true form of Pein was frail and weak…

And she certainly couldn't leave _Madara_ in charge of Nagato's maintenance, and Nagato knew that. Nagato needed her. He needed her for medical support, needed her to run the country as Amekage, and, in honor of Yahiko's final wish, he needed to keep her alive. That didn't mean he wasn't angry at her small run of rebellion, but it _did_ mean there was little he could do about it without breaking the promise.

At least, Konan prayed that Nagato remembered all these things, because every day Nagato sank a little further into darkness, and every day Konan wondered if he lose himself enough to not care about losing _her_.

"If you had allowed Sakura Haruno to die in Konoha, we would not need to hunt her down now."

"She only wants what we do, Nagato."

"And she will fail, as we did."

"Not if we worked together."

"She declined Madara's offer to join Akatsuki. She had her choice."

"I'm saying _we_ could work with _her_."

Konan met Nagato's eyes for the first time, and even though she had seen the strange rings of the Rinnegan before, every time she gazed upon it, it caught her off guard. It was unnatural, almost alien, and something about it just filled her with foreboding.

"Nagato, she's already got a half a dozen countries signed on. More than half of the Five. If you stood at her side, if you _worked_ with her-"

"I said no, Konan, and my word is final. I know how this story ends."

"So instead you'll just be the one who ends it? At least give her a _chance_."

"If not for the Ichibi under her wing, I might have. As it is now, we cannot allow her to grow stronger, or she will keep the Ichibi from us."

Konan bit her lip and did not say more.

Nagato was not yet completely lost, but he was too far gone to see reason. And of course, there wasn't a thing she could do about it. She couldn't combat the Rinnegan, nor could she combat _Madara_. And both of them? Unthinkable.

Sakura was doomed and peace was doomed before it could have a chance to flourish.

At least, those were Konan's thoughts until she returned to her room and found a small envelope waiting for her. Inside was a square sheet of paper with nonsensical lines and scribbles.

She mulled over the paper for some time before it came to her. She folded the square with perfect precision, trying several shapes before eventually settling on a paper crane, and with that the lines and scribbles aligned to make words.

**If you want peace, then I need your help.**

There was no return address, no indicator of who could have possibly sent it, and no way to send an answer in turn. Konan found herself frustrated by this. She wanted peace, she could _give_ help, but what sort of person would send a message with no way to answer?

The answer to that came a week later, when another envelope came to her room with another crane to be folded. This time, the crane held coordinates. A location.

A trap, perhaps? A test from Nagato, to see where her loyalties lay? Would she die if she went?

More importantly, could she live with herself, knowing Yahiko would never approve of the man Nagato had become?

Konan crumpled the crane into a ball and burned it. She ruminated over its proposal for several days, each time allowing herself to get closer and closer to leaving her home in search of it.

On the third day, she made up her mind and left.

* * *

**She pushed and pulled and it did not give.**

**It never did.**

**And it never would.**

**Not without...**_**them**_**.**

**But the time would come, and all the pieces were in place.**

**Soon.**

**Soon it would give.**

**Soon it would be hers.**

**She could almost taste it.**

**But for now she would suffice as a spectator, and soon?**

**Soon the world would sleep.**


	68. The Months Between

The first part was patience.

Before Sakura could learn to use the gifts Jashin had bestowed upon her, she had to first learn what was considered by many to be one of the most dangerous and difficult of the shinobi arts: the manipulation and accumulation of natural energy. Sakura had read about the art of senjutsu in the academy, never in her wildest dreams considering that she might one day learn the art herself. As far as Konoha was aware, only certain animal sages were capable of teaching the art at all, and that required one to have signed their summoning contract and proving themselves worthy of the teaching. Not only that, but not everyone was capable of learning the art, and if one learned it improperly, it would irreparably alter them. Sakura vaguely remembered reading about Shinichi the Fool, who was once taught by the toad sages of Myoboku and attempted to learn senjutsu, but was unable to master the art and was permanently turned into a stone statue of a toad.

Sakura had thought the last part was a bit ridiculous. Turning to stone, plausible. Turning into a toad, also plausible. Both? It reminded her of a child's fable meant to scare children away from doing something stupid. But Shiro had insisted that the tale was _true_, and that those who could not master senjutsu would slowly turn into the form of their animal tutor before becoming petrified by the energy.

Sakura was starting to wonder if the world was actually ridiculous and if she was a fool for attempting to apply logic to it.

Shiro assured her at the start of her training that she would not need to worry about turning into an animal _or_ turning to stone, as those consequences were reserved for those who trained under animal sages. Instead, if the natural energy overcame her ability to control it, her body would instead solidify into wood and turn her into a magnificent tree.

No pressure. And equally ridiculous.

Natural energy was everywhere, but in more abundance at a nexus. As Sakura began her training in the senjutsu art, she was taken to the Altar of Jashin to meditate. The process, as theory, was quite simple: the natural chakra around her must be taken into her body and blended with her physical and spiritual energies in perfect balance. Too little natural energy and nothing would happen; too much, and her body would become overwhelmed and begin to turn.

It was scary, but Sakura had resources. The disciples of Jashin had learned that there were methods of aiding a person in regulating natural energy. Obsidian was one of these methods: the material was found in abundance at each chakric nexus, and early experimentation with it had shown the first Jashinists that it was capable of absorbing natural energy like a sponge. The glass used the natural energy to grow, and thus was uniquely helpful as a medium for helping a disciple learn to use the energy. A disciple was given an obsidian amulet, shaped into Jashin's symbol, and if they generated too much natural energy in their attempts to use it, the amulet would absorb the excess and prevent it from damaging the disciple's body. Too much energy warped the amulet, however, and eventually made it grow into a state that was impractical to keep around one's neck, so the amulets were mostly considered a failsafe. A true user of senjutsu would be one who could make due without it.

Even with the failsafe, most people were incapable of using senjutsu effectively. It required extremely precise chakra control, and was made easier if one had unnaturally large reserves. The most prolific user, in both Sakura's readings and in Jashinist memory, had actually been Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage. It was unknown who exactly taught Hashirama the art, and there were some who theorized he had simply 'figured it out', but regardless of the method Hashirama had mastered the technique and often had used senjutsu to strengthen the effect of his already powerful Wood Release.

Sakura was no Hashirama. Her chakra control was masterful, true, but she did not have the chakra reserves of a Senju. It meant she would have to be discerning in her use of the senjutsu arts. Though using senjutsu lessoned the amount of chakra she would need for techniques by a third, and strengthened them considerably, she was still bound by the limit of her reserves. If her reserves ran out and she continued to pull natural energy into her body? Tree time.

But even just _having_ natural energy within her had its benefits, and Sakura could become a formidable fighter without ever having to expend a drop of chakra. The first time she successfully merged natural energy with her own chakra, the _world _became alive. Her body felt stronger and sharper, her vision became clearer, and she could _sense_ things without having to lift a finger to make a hand sign. It would have been overwhelming if she hadn't already been teaching herself to comprehend the effect with her sensing jutsu, and even then it was so much _crisper_ than her scroll had ever been able to allow her to sense. It went beyond sensing natures and signatures: it gave her a sense of _movement_, in a way allowing her to predict where Shiro would move to next within the room without having to look in his direction at all. Senjutsu increased her reactionary ability far beyond what she could achieve on her own…

And the stupidest part about it was, at the moment, that she was unable to _act_ on any of these reactions, because accumulating natural energy required being _perfect still_.

Patience, Shiro had told her. The first part was the learning. Maintaining the mixture of natural, physical, and spiritual energy while moving was considered an S-ranked technique, and very few had mastered it without some sort of outside assistance. Hashirama had used his wood technique akin to a mount to move himself about the battlefield. The Sannin Jiraiya supposedly had to use the help of toad summons to maintain the technique. Hidan, the only other disciple currently able to use the technique in combat, had to use a blood seal as a focus. It explained the technique that Sakura had seen him use before: the seal he had drawn on the ground with his own blood had little to do with his 'Curse' technique. Though Sakura had little explanation other than 'Jashin's will', the symbol, when used as a seal, _also_ served as a regulator to absorb excess natural energy. So long as Hidan remained within the seal, he could draw upon natural energy with ease and maintain the state of power needed to enact his Curse.

If Sakura wanted to be a master, she would have to do what all of her predecessors could not and use natural energy without a focus. But Sakura wasn't aiming to be a master, not with three or so months to learn. She'd settle for being able to use it at all.

Jashin had somehow forced her into the correct balance in the past and had allowed her to use the art in two life-threatening situations. But those situations had been involuntary. Sakura needed to use the technique at _will_, for it was only with the assistance of natural energy that she could master the technique that had been bestowed to her alone as Jashin's Chosen Jushisai.

That required the stillness of meditation, and it required patience.

* * *

The first part was perception.

Shikoku was an island with a sprawling forest and quaint 'staged' village, in which the tanuki practiced their deceptive transformations. The tanuki who had escorted Gaara to Shikoku, who referred to himself simply as 'Tanuko', gave him a brief history of the village as they made their way through it. Long ago, he explained, the tanuki and kitsune were rivals. The kitsune, proud kin of the Nine-Tailed Fox, prided themselves in their ability to make mischief for humanity and disguise themselves among them. The tanuki, who followed the noble Shukaku, prided themselves similarly. It was hotly debated who among the animal tribes were the first to come up with the ancient transformative techniques, and each of them claimed _they_ were the ones to teach transformation and deception to shinobi.

"If it isn't abundantly obvious," Tanuko said with a wink. "It was the tanuki, of course."

Gaara was no trickster, and had only ever rarely used transformative jutsu. Back when he had called upon Shukaku's power, sand had overlaid his body and technically 'transformed' him, but that was a rather severe example. He'd simply had no need for such techniques. His specialty had been defensive and assassination techniques; why disguise oneself when sand could kill a man from afar? Why disguise when nothing could penetrate his defense and threaten him? Suna had known Gaara was no true 'infiltrator', not like certain shinobi who pretended to be another to get closer to a target, to learn information and manipulate others to their own schemes.

He told this to Tanuko as they discussed tanuki history, and the tanuki had just chuckled.

"See, that's your problem, kid. You're only thinking one way. You're never going to pass the trials like _that_."

The concept of the trials were simple. Gaara was to be allowed free reign of the tanuki village for seven days. During this time, the tanuki of the island would be fully disguised as humans. Gaara's task was to identify which of the tanuki were the Three Great Tanuki Sages. The other disguised tanuki would attempt to fool Gaara from discerning these identities. Once Gaara discenned all three Sages, the trials would be over, and Gaara would be allowed to bond with the tanuki.

The catch, of course, would be that Gaara would not be allowed to use _any_ chakra.

At first Gaara simply thought that he would be trusted to abstain from chakra use, until Tanuko pointed out that chakra was used _subconsciously_, especially by a Jinchuuriki with a symbiotic Bijuu bond. Shinobi used chakra to enhance their muscles and senses, to perceive the world around them, and even the slightest bit of chakra would likely make it easier for Gaara to determine the Sages from the ordinary tanuki. Tanuko took Gaara to a small shrine within the village and painted a complex but temporary seal upon his body with golden paint, and all at once Gaara felt his sand armor fall to the ground and no longer heard Shukaku's voice within himself. He felt _weak_, like he'd suddenly lost all the energy in his limbs, and even his very clothing felt heavier.

The tanuki believed that chakra was a tool and that overreliance upon a tool made the mind and body degrade. This was different than the kitsune, who viewed chakra as a necessity that should be used in tandem with _every_ action. As Gaara began his first day of the trial, he wondered to himself if he wouldn't have preferred the kitsune instead. It was _rough_ moving about without chakra, like trying to push through one side of a river to the other. Senses he didn't know he'd relied upon were dulled, and it took several hours before he felt fit to even _begin_ attempting the trials.

There were rules to help him. Each of the disguised tanuki would tell Gaara three facts: two of which were lies, and one of which was true. Gaara was given a scroll to keep track of these facts, and with good reason: there were several _hundred_ tanuki within the village, each with facts to share, and Gaara realized that he'd never really pushed his mind in such a manner and his head was beginning to _ache_ with the overload of so many new sensations at once.

At least five of the tanuki had claimed that Danzaburou was wearing blue, but three claimed Danzaburou was wearing red, and a single had claimed gold. Shibaemon was a merchant, but nobody seemed to be able to agree on _what_ he was selling. Yashima Hage was the greatest warrior of the Sages, but though nine tanuki claimed he carried a sword at his hip, another nine claimed it was an axe.

The trials required Gaara not _just_ to find the three Sages, but to ensure he had gotten information from every tanuki within the village, and to _know _that he had done so. Which meant he had to memorize every face and every outfit, to learn every name and be able to tell apart those with the _same_ name, and all this _without_ a drop of chakra.

Gaara admittedly had never been good at remembering people. He'd never needed to before, people hadn't _mattered_ to him before Naruto, before Sakura and Sai. He'd known he'd had something of a deficit in social education growing up, but he'd always taken a sort of comfort in his belief that, despite this, at least he wasn't as bad as _Sai_, who seemed capable of pissing people off with a single, badly-placed nickname. Now, however, Gaara was starting to doubt this belief. Sai had been trained in reconnaissance. He might not understand social etiquette, but he at least could remember a name and a face, at least could know what their affiliations were, their abilities, their history…

Gaara had never learned any of these skills, and it was only now that he realized the potential hindrance that could be. He was working with Sakura to become an _ambassador_, which meant he would _need_ to understand people. He'd _need_ to be able to remember details about everyone he met, what they liked and disliked, what they'd done to reach their positions, and it wasn't just about the leaders of the villages, it was about the villagers _themselves_. They would be working to monitor trade between villages, which meant an understanding of economics, an understanding of what resources were pulled up by individual towns within the country's jurisdiction, understanding the relationships between daimyo and Kage…

And Gaara was having trouble keeping track of a single damned _village_.

His head hurt. But better now, he thought, then out in the human world where failing to keep track of such things might mean the failure of Sakura's project. Gaara realized that finding the three Sages wasn't _really_ the trial, it was proving he was capable of keeping track of the nuances of a single village and using the knowledge he obtained to figure out something about it that wasn't immediately obvious. It wasn't just about knowing who the Sages were, because in order to know that, he had to know what they _did_, how they affected the people around them. Four tanuki claimed that Shibaemon traded with them directly, and twenty nine tanuki claimed they came into Shibaemon's wares by trading with the earlier four, which meant that if he kept track of who traded with the four, he could narrow down Shibaemon's identity. And that meant spending a day watching merchant trading and comparing every possibility with his other notes on Shibaemon, until…

On the third day, Gaara correctly guessed Shibaemon's identity. He was exhausted, his mind stretched beyond what he thought himself capable of, and he had only four more days to find the other two. He understood nothing about why the tanuki were testing him on _this_ specifically, but by that third day he knew that he'd _needed_ this. He was a Jinchuuriki, he _had_ an arsenal of shinobi techniques already refined to his unique status, he'd _trained_ to be a shinobi all his life...but he knew _nothing_ of people, nothing of villages, nothing of civilian habits, nothing of people simply _existing_.

"Ain't your fault, kid. You were raised as a weapon. You only got half your education. All those stupid humans out there, they think too big, too grand. You gotta start learning to see the little things."

_I have to learn to see at __**all**__, _Gaara thought. To see the world beyond a shinobi's view, beyond a target to kill or a point to defend. He had to learn to see _people_.

"And then," Tanuko told him with a grin. "Then we can teach you the _fun_ stuff."

* * *

The first part was perseverance.

One couldn't survive as a Hageshisai without. On days that the crew did not take on missions, they trained and trained and _trained_, and it was that in particular that Sai took to like a fish to water. He was used to regiment; Root had insisted upon it. But Root had never trained like _this_.

The Hageshisai _threw_ themselves into battle, almost literally so, almost _expecting_ to suffer injury in pursuit of their opponents. At a time when a well put kick to the groin would have left any shinobi reeling on the ground, the Hageshisai took it with a smile and _just kept coming_.

"Pain," Ran told him with a grin, "is what lets us know we're _alive_. It is a celebration of the human experience."

"It's a sign you did something wrong." Sai countered.

"Absolutely." Ran agreed. "And what happens when you fail? Do you sit there and cry like a child, or do you _grow_ from it?"

Ran was scarred almost as much as the T&I head, Ibiki, back in Konoha. Every single one of her scars she touted as failure she'd _survived_. The Hageshisai didn't seek out pain, but they also didn't _run_ from it. They embraced pain, embraced failure, as a lesson to be learned. Got a kunai to the arm? Should have dodged quicker. Bruised a knuckle on armor? Don't punch metal next time.

And it wasn't just the lessons, but truly the experience of it. Every time a disciple was injured in training, it was really, _truly_ celebrated. The first time Sai took a shuriken to his leg, the Hageshisai said a prayer around him as he was healed, in what could only be described as jubilation.

Praise for the warrior who bleeds. Praise for the warrior who fights on anyway. In watching Sai's failure, _all_ had learned. In surviving his failure, Sai had grown _stronger_.

It was an interesting contrast to the mentality of Root. Root had damned failure. Those who failed were worthless, were _dead_. But the Hageshisai seemed to think failure was a blessing gifted to them by their god, and that the only way to _truly_ live was to experience failure. One who was perfect never _grew_. One who didn't not grow was stagnant, and the Way of Pain was about overcoming and challenging stagnation.

And in a way, perseverance was a form of battle in and of itself, and it did not take Sai long to see the pattern. Focusing on never getting hit took away opportunities. Sure, he could dodge the shuriken, but if he instead _took_ the shuriken in a spot that would only minimally hinder him, that left an opening that his opponent might not be able to cover. It took time to draw another shuriken, after all, or to prepare a hand sign for a jutsu, and the opponent had already wasted movement throwing the _first_ shuriken.

In Sai's professional opinion, it was a stupidly risky way of fighting. But since no ordinary shinobi would expect an opponent to _purposely_ take a hit, it would change the nature of a fight. Shinobi fought under the expectation that their enemy would trying to dodge their moves. Hageshisai played on that expectation and used it to a tactical advantage.

What resulted was a relentless assault upon an opponent, forcing them to have to think on their feet and not giving them the proper time to plan a retaliation. Shinobi already fought fast but the Hageshisai were on another level. They pumped chakra into their legs to fly into their enemy at incredible speeds, and the first time Sai had been thrown into a spar, his opponent had knocked him unconscious with a single propelled blow.

That had been the day Sai truly understood the concept of 'embarrassment'.

The Hageshisai took on missions to bring income to the enclave, which in turn was used to provide food, clothing, and amenities to all of Jashin's disciples. Most of the time, the missions were simple, C ranks by village standards. Protecting a Yugakure merchant from bandits, delivering a message through untamed and hostile territory, chasing a volatile missing-nin from the borders...and sometimes even straight up mercenary work from _other_ _countries_. Sai's first mission had actually been requested of the enclave by a shinobi from Kumo: one of their own had gone rogue and had fled to Yu's borders to escape justice. That day, Sai had joined Ran's group in hunting and taking down the rogue, and from there escorting the rogue to Kumo's border. The job itself had started easy, especially with Sai's tracking experience. They'd found the rogue within a day of setting off for the job, and it was then that Ran had given Sai the honor of taking the rogue down.

"To first blood." Ran had instructed him. "And no long distance cowardice. When you have tasted your enemy's first failure, then we shall join you in the revelry."

Sai didn't necessarily think ranged fighting was _cowardice_, but he had joined up with the Hageshisai to have something to do while Sakura trained, so he couldn't deny the request. And this was technically training for himself as well. He'd never been a strong close-ranged fighter, so...he considered it practice.

Sai had decided to take the Hageshisai's training to heart and had thrown himself at his enemy. He concentrated his chakra and drew a blade, throwing himself into the missing-nin's den and narrowly dodging the carefully laid traps. The missing-nin had woken to Sai's rapidly incoming presence, and was unable to dodge Sai's kunai, instead taking the blow to the shoulder. Sai buried the blade in as far as it would go and twisted, a technique Ran had taught him that shredded muscle and nerve and caused more pain than a normal blow. The rogue had cried out in agony, which turn had summoned the rest of Ran's crew, and from there it had been more of a game than an actual battle. One rogue shinobi versus a half dozen blood crazed battle fanatics? Even Sai wouldn't have wanted those odds.

That night, with the rogue shinobi tied up and a hunted boar roasting over a large campfire, the crew had celebrated. They sang praises to Jashin and attempted to pull Sai into the 'revelry', and though Sai found it a bit difficult to keep up with the energy level the others put out, he could also feel himself...warming to it. The disciples lavished him with congratulations over drawing the first blood and helping bring the shinobi down, each of them in turn coming to clap him on the back and give him their praise. It was part of the ritual, Sai noticed, because every disciple praised every other for something they'd done in the battle, whether it be a well-placed hit or an artful dodge or even diverting a blow that would have been fatal for a comrade.

Root had no concept of congratulations. One did a job perfectly, or one was reprimanded. Sai had learned the concept of praise from Sakura, but the Hageshisai, strangely enough, had it down to an _art_.

And as the night drew on and the Hageshisai lost themselves to song and music in Jashin's name, Sai strangely felt himself wanting to join along.

* * *

When Gaara returned to the enclave for the first time, all three of them were exhausted in ways they'd never been exhausted before.

"I hate tanuki." Gaara said dryly as he laid on the floor.

"I hate nature chakra." Sakura answered in turn, sprawling herself out with her head on Gaara's stomach.

"I think I want to learn to play an instrument." Sai announced, leaning back so that his head was in Sakura's lap. "It's good practice for dexterity. It will enable me to paint faster."

"You know, Sai, you can learn to play an instrument just because you _want_ to." Sakura countered. "It doesn't have to be for any benefit."

"Ah." Sai replied. "I suppose so."

* * *

The second part was comprehension.

With nature chakra circling through her system, Sakura could call upon Jashin's power to 'connect' her to an individual. She had to be touching them, and they had to have chakra. Shiro theorized that Jashin connected his Chosen to another person's chakra source and allowed his Chosen to direct the other's chakra to either harm or hurt. For Hidan, that connection was made through the imbibing of his opponent's chakra. Blood had chakra within it, and was the most efficient way to imbibe an enemy's chakra in battle. Once Hidan had tasted his opponent's chakra, Jashin enabled him to connect to his opponent and direct said opponent's chakra to injure its host. It only worked using natural chakra, and Hidan could only direct his opponent's chakra by taking on the wound himself. Jashin kept Hidan alive despite any injury because injury was needed to damage his opponent in such a manner.

It was a bit inefficient, perhaps, but with all the pomp and ritual Hidan participated in to do it, there was very little chance an opponent would be able to tell what exactly was going on. They'd be intimidated by the mention of a curse, put off by the fact that Hidan could take lethal injury without a sweat, and distracted by the mere implication that Hidan could kill them without lifting a single finger in _their_ direction. And even without the connection, Hidan was a force to be feared. He didn't need to connect to every opponent to kill them: immortality and a scythe were pretty fine substitutes. But as far as the Hageshisai believed, killing through Jashin's connection was a uniquely holy experience, and Hidan was encouraged to seek out powerful opponents and perform the ritual, feeling their pain and suffering and taking it all into himself at his enemy's final moments.

"The Hageshisai have always been a bit brutal." Shiro told her. "The Jushisai prefer the healing worship. To give of oneself to see another thrive...is that not, in and of itself, a holy experience?"

The Hageshisai worshipped the giving of pain, and the Jushisai worshipped the taking of pain. Balanced, and full of debate. Sakura sometimes sat in on philosophical discussions between the older members of the enclave and found herself enraptured by the contradictions, by the proclamations, by every word of it. The power was real, that was undeniable, but the nature of it wasn't even agreed upon within the _enclave_, and that both fascinated and inspired her.

One didn't need to believe the same things to work towards a common cause. And wasn't that exactly what her Neutrality Project was attempting to recreate?

Both healing and harming required a knowledge of anatomy. Hidan had been put through an anatomy course before, though Shiro mused that he had not really taken to study very well, and so too was Sakura begun on anatomy textbooks and lectures on the functions of the body. Hidan directed chakra to harm. Sakura directed chakra to _heal_.

Jinchuuriki did it naturally. The Bijuu's chakra circled into their system and directed their own chakra to stitch together wounds and mend broken bones. It was the reason that Naruto had always been so durable, and what Sakura was learning was how to direct another's chakra in much the same way. But she needed to know _how_ to direct it first. It was one thing to know that someone had taken a kunai cut; it was another to understand how to order the body to pull skin and muscle cells together and grow them back into functionality.

"I healed Sai before without knowing any of this." Sakura told Shiro one day. "I remember putting pressure on the wounds, and I remember feeling Jashin force natural energy into me...but I wasn't doing any directing."

"No, I suspect not." Shiro had agreed. "Did you remain conscious, afterwards?"

"...no."

"Then what you did then was akin to an overload. You had no way of knowing how to direct Sai's chakra, so instead you unknowingly ordered his chakra to repair _everything_. It requires a very high amount of chakra from you to do this, enough that you could have possibly died yourself from the attempt. Such a thing should only be reserved for very dire emergencies."

Shiro didn't have to tell _her_ twice.

Directionless healing required _tons_ of chakra, whereas a specific direction required less. Sakura would be best in a situation where she could heal single wounds at a time. The severity of the injury correlated to the amount of chakra used, of course, which meant that even with the addition of nature chakra to her system, there was only so much healing Sakura could do before she could heal no longer.

And no, she did _not_ get immortality.

"I feel like I got the short end of the stick." Sakura grumbled over her textbook. "Hidan can't die unless someone chops off his head and starves him to death, whereas I'm still _very_ squishy. Wouldn't I be a better healer if I didn't have to worry about dying _myself_?"

"Jashin's Chosen were made to work in tandem with each other." Shiro explained. "You need not fear death with Hidan to take every blow meant for you, and you to heal him when he does so. Hidan need not fear being disabled from a fight with you to put him back together, which means, so long as you are touching, there is _nothing_ that can stop you."

"But Hidan isn't here and I'm still squishy."

"That is true, but that does not mean you do not have other abilities that Hidan might envy."

It all came back to sensing, and Sakura wondered more than once how much of a freak coincidence it was that she pulled a sealing scroll from Konoha's library all those months ago. Natural energy enhanced one's sensing abilities, yes, but Jashin's influence helped make her sensing abilities even more special. For one, sensing could be used as a diagnostic. For injuries that were invisible to the eye, for cancers and diseases and poisons, how could one direct healing if they did not know what or where to look for?

As it turned out, _chakra_ reacted to internal damage, and it took a very keen and discerning eye to understand what was the natural flow of chakra and what indicated a chakra disturbed. Sakura learned this in something of a trial by fire. A particular dedicated Hageshisai took poison into their body, and Sakura was tasked with using her sensing jutsu to determine how the poison was taking effect and to use Jashin's power to direct their chakra to nullify it. They started with more benign poisons, but as Sakura's training progressed, they moved on to progressively more lethal applications. It wasn't just nullifying the poison, then, but undoing the damage the poison had managed to do before Sakura had gotten to it. Reversing liver damage, preventing blood from coagulating too much, repairing nerve damage...all these things and more Sakura had to learn, and it was the most intense application of her academic mind that she had ever been put through. She wondered passively one day if this was how Tsunade had learned to heal, and naturally took plenty of notes. (It had been Tsunade's request, after all, to spread the knowledge of healing to every village, and Sakura wasn't sure if even Tsunade knew some of the healing techniques that the Jushisai had perfected over centuries of study.)

Learning to harness natural chakra had been the first step. Mastering both healing and sensing was the next. And Sakura admittedly felt a sense of peace with the knowledge that, should the worst ever happen to her comrades, there _was_ something she could do. If she couldn't keep them safe, she could _heal_ them...and that was something that just felt _right_.

* * *

The second part was control.

Gaara had been more than relieved to have the golden seal pulled away from his body and to feel his and Shukaku's chakra return to him, and had felt no small amount of relief when he'd successfully named the last of the three Sages.

"You've earned our allegiance, kid." Yashima Hage had told him with a smile, no longer disguised but standing before Gaara in full tanuki glory. The Sage was _huge_, easily twenty feet tall and with a presence that even made Gaara straighten his back a little more and stand at attention. Not even his father had made him feel the need to _behave_ like the Sages did. "But you've still got a lot to learn, don't you think?"

"Yes." Gaara agreed with a nod. "More than I had realized."

It didn't take much more for the Sages to announce that they would take Gaara on. No summoner of theirs, they rationalized, would make _them_ look bad. So it was that Gaara agreed to return for regular training, so long as he could come back to the Jashinist enclave each night and ensure that Sakura and Sai were doing well.

Tanukis were masters of deception, that much he had learned quickly, but they were also masters of puzzles and traps and quick thinking. And most importantly, the tanuki had the ability to make _gold_.

Golden sand had been a technique passed down in Sunagakure to worthy shinobi. Gaara's father had wielded it, and it was known to be the only thing capable of restraining Shukaku's power when seals had failed. It was a heavier metal, but more malleable. Once it had been created, it could be more easily shaped and used for both offense and defense. But that was not all.

"Gold has further properties." Shibaemon told him. "With proper application, it can purify chakra."

"Purify?"

"Remove alterations to chakra. If someone sends a waterfall your way, your regular sand will begun muddied, and it won't eliminate the actual water from pooling around you. Gold, when used correctly, can pull the applied element from the technique and render it pure chakra. A wave hits a shield of golden sand and you no longer have to deal with the aftermath."

Useful, Gaara noted, and it explained how the golden sand of his Father had managed to restrain Shukaku in the past. His father had said that he had weighed down Shukaku with his own sand, but it had been _more_ than that. He had purified Shukaku's chakra from Gaara's own, until Shukaku was docile enough to be properly restrained.

Even more than that, golden sand applied to a seal could nullify it, if Gaara's technique was good enough. Tanuki had perfected the technique in order to counter traps that had been designed by their peers. Tanuki were constantly playing such games: one would attempt to trap the other, and the other would attempt to nullify or escape the trap.

First, Gaara would learn gold manipulation. Then, _he'd_ be playing those games.

It required very precise chakra control to create gold from the earth, which was something Gaara still severely lacked. As a Jinchuuriki, it was far easier to brute force techniques with an abundance of chakra, but if Gaara tried to brute force gold, he ended up creating something molten and useless.

He was started, not on gold, but on the tanuki's signature transformation technique. Gaara was encouraged to perform the technique with smaller and smaller amounts of chakra, all the while maintaining perfect detail as he attempted to replicate a person generated by a tanuki in front of him. When Gaara first performed the technique, he was told to halve his chakra, then halve it again, until Gaara was forced to learn how to perform the technique using a hundredth of what he had used to begin with. His integration with Shukaku's chakra made it even more difficult. Even with he and the Bijuu working in tandem, Shukaku just had _so much_, and it was difficult for Shukaku to hold his own power back.

For the first month, he felt as though he had a headache every day from the strain of learning control. He was attempting to cram _years_ of practice and learning into a much shorter period of time, and that on it own was a _new_ kind of exhaustion that he had never experienced. He would return to the enclave, eat, and then promptly pass out, usually on top of Sakura while she studied. This was further perpetuated by Sai, who had picked up some sort of string instrument and played admittedly soothing music. Gaara had thought he'd never find peace like he had during their time in Iwa, but those evenings in the enclave were equally enjoyable.

More than anything, he realized, he wanted a _home_. He wanted Akatsuki dead and the shinobi nations united and a place for him, Sakura, and Sai to be able to come to and settle down and just..._exist_.

Maybe here in Yu, he thought, a pacifist nation with no official shinobi, close to the Jashinists that Sakura and Sai had now truly bonded with. Maybe they could settle here? Build a house in the mountains near a pleasant hot spring, not too far from civilization but not too close…

It was those thoughts, those peaceful dreams, that let him focus enough to make gold for the first time.

* * *

The second part was community.

It was something that the Hageshisai secretly prided more than pain, more than religion. It was _community_ with each other, knowing each other's little quirks and secrets and being there whenever one faced hardships. Sai had begun to learn community during his time with Sakura and Gaara, but there was a difference between interacting with close friends and interacting with a _people_.

When Ran's crew threw themselves into battle, Sai learned to throw himself in right beside them, and because they had fought and sparred so many times he _knew_ how they would move. He could swing a sword with his comrade inches away and know for a fact that he would never harm his comrade, and when kunai and shuriken flew his way he _knew_ the people around him would make sure he didn't get hit. And he in turn kept _them_ safe, fought at _their_ side. He celebrated with them, and while he still wasn't sure about singing, he didn't protest when Ran thrust a shamisen into his hands and told him it was time to learn. The Hageshisai praised Jashin not just through prayer, but through upbeat song and dance that swelled within the enclave and seemed to echo both _within_ him and without.

It took time to learn the shamisen, but Sai had already trained his fingers to be deft and his hands to be strong. More importantly, Sakura and Gaara did not seem to mind his practicing within their quarters, and Sakura even encouraged it. He'd found a hobby, he realized after a time, something to occupy his mind that wasn't training or researching, but something that was simply…

Fun?

"Well I should hope you're having fun, brat!" Ran teased him after Sai had spoken with her about it. "What's life if you can't enjoy it a little bit?"

As if to prove it to him, Ran began to turn combat training into games. They played tag up in the mountains, weapons and exploding tags allowed, and Sai was allowed to lose himself in the thrill of hunting and _being_ hunted. He made something of a name for himself; many of his ink animals were small enough to sneak exploding tags into hiding spaces and drive out the hiding by explosive force, and Sai found himself enjoying the elated whooping and hollering that sounded when he'd successfully rooted someone out. It was fast and it was direct and Sai was easily _both_ those things without even trying. And there was nothing like settling down after a day of running about. It gave Sakura a chance to practice healing on his superficial wounds, and afterwards he could soak in the hot springs with his comrades and listen to the jokes and tall tales they came up with.

Sometimes they went on trips, and sometimes those trips were commissioned by Sakura herself. As she learned more, she wrote reports to deliver to each of the allied Kage, as well as letters to pass on to her friends. Sai could have just sent them by bird, of course, but going on trips with Ran's crew helped him gauge just how quickly he could reach a specific village, and also allowed him to continually show his face as an ambassador.

"Ya know, you're smiling a lot more." Naruto had told him during a mission to deliver some healing documents to Tsunade. "I mean, you smiled before, but everyone knew you were kinda full of it."

"How do you know I'm not full of it now?"

"I don't know, I just do! It's like, it's the _eyes_ or something. Ino's been trying to show me how to read people and it's like, no matter what you do, it's really _really_ hard to mask what your eyes are showing, ya know?"

"Kind of sounds like _you're_ full of it, Brainless."

"Gah, you're such a prick, Sai!"

It took six days at full sprint to reach Sunagakure from the enclave. It was three days to reach Konoha from Suna, and about four days to reach Iwa or Taki from either of them, so long as they only stopped for minimal rest. Judging by those times, it would probably take a good ten days to cross the continent from Kumo to Suna, and similarly so to cross the continent from Iwa to Kiri. No matter where they were, they would always be able to reach a village within ten days, usually quicker depending on where they were. It was something that nobody had ever really calculated before, mostly because there hadn't ever been a _need_ to do so. But now that Sai was doing it, he hoped that other shinobi might be tempted into visiting villages that they were allied with, if only to learn the culture and gain a better understanding of the people they might be called to fight alongside.

In a way, _that_ was community too. Sai found himself beginning to collect souvenirs from every country, books and snacks and trinkets that he could share with others and even keep for himself. Gemstone pendants from Iwa, spicy dried fruits from Suna, entertaining literature from Konoha, and, perhaps most interestingly, hand-held telescopes from Kusagakure. Stargazing was a popular pastime in the Grass Village, and Sai found that the scopes were not just good for looking up to the sky, but for seeing very far distances. One scope in particular was attached to a headpiece, meant to be worn around one eye to allow a long-ranged fighter to better see their foe.

Suffice to say, Sai had dumped most of his money on getting one of _those_ of the finest quality. And as he passed on his trinkets and snacks to people he knew in each village, he knew he was spreading something _good_: interest.

The ambassadors were supposed to be promoting trade between villages, weren't they? Sai simply considered it part of the job. And if businesses did well enough from his advertising to start to give him discounts whenever he arrived? He certainly wouldn't complain.

* * *

Was it weird to bond over weapons? Sakura wasn't sure, but she'd take happiness where she found it.

The Jashinists had pioneered trick weaponry, after all, and of course Jashin's Chosen and her entourage would be offered the best the enclave's weaponsmiths had to offer.

Sai had been pondering ideas for his own weapon for some time, and ended up coming up with something simple: a custom paint brush, one that could shift into a blowgun of sorts and allow him to both paint his ink creations and quickly switch to darts when the need arose. Simple but deadly: the darts could be poisoned, but he could also roll very thin explosive tags around some of the darts and have a rather bombastic defense if someone threatened to get close.

Gaara provided the metal for his own commission, gold he had made by mixing his chakra with the earth. But Gaara wasn't really a weapons user, so instead he asked for armor: golden chainmail that he could wear beneath his attire and channel chakra into in an attempt to purify any jutsu that managed to get around his sand. Gaara thought of Sasuke Uchiha and the Chidori technique that had torn through his barrier and pierced his shoulder; if he could have nullified the lightning, the technique would have done far less damage. Plus, if he didn't have time to make gold, he could always use his armor, in a pinch.

Sakura's commission was perhaps the most difficult. She wanted something that could be defensive _and_ offensive, but also something that someone with her body type wouldn't have trouble wielding. It took a week before the weaponsmith came to her with an idea.

"Kasayari." The man announced. "A completely unique design for Jashin's chosen."

He explained the concept, and Sakura's eyes lit up.

This..._this_ she could work with.

* * *

The third part was acceptance.

Jashin's visions came with increased severity the longer she spent in the enclave, but for the first time since the visions began, Sakura felt something new.

Sakura felt someone looking through _her_ eyes.

She couldn't explain how she knew, and perhaps Jashin was simply giving her a nudge whenever it occurred. But it didn't take her long to realize that _Hidan_ was looking through her eyes, much as she had looked through his and seen into his past.

They were leagues apart, and Hidan was limited in his correspondence with the enclave since joining Akatsuki, but through _this_ they could communicate.

_Hey_, Sakura thought to herself. _So..._ _I found the enclave like you said. But I think I did things a little differently than you wanted._

When she slept that night, she saw through Hidan's eyes, and heard his thoughts as her own.

_**There**_ _you are, you little shit, I can't __**fucking**_ _believe you had to go and get yourself chosen for the Jushisai. Did you not listen to a fucking word I told you? You're too good to be a goddamn pacifist so don't you let them corrupt you._

Hidan cursed, but Sakura still got a sense of resigned acceptance. Hidan accepted _her_, and these words were just...banter.

_You better listen up, Pinkie, 'cause this might be the difference between life or fucking death, and I'm __**not **__gonna stand you dying before you get a chance to show me how good you've gotten. See this shit in front of me? That's Kakuzu and he's a heathen piece of shit that won't hesitate to put you in the ground if the price is right, and guess what? The price is __**fucking right**__. _

Sakura saw Kakuzu again, currently sitting at a desk and going through what looked to be paperwork. They were in a building, and it was raining outside, heavily.

Hidan stood up, cracking his neck, which caused Kakuzu to look up.

"I'm fuckin' bored, I'm going for a walk. If Boss doesn't have anything for us to kill, what's the goddamn point?"

"Don't do anything stupid, Hidan."

"...then what's the goddamn _point_?"

This, also, seemed like banter, and though there was an underlying sense of loathing that Hidan felt regarding Kakuzu, there was also a begrudging respect. The man was strong, and Hidan acknowledged it.

Hidan walked out into the rain, and for the first time, something clicked within Sakura's mind.

This was Amegakure.

Shiro had told her, but Sakura still hadn't quite believed it. Amegakure was the location of Akatsuki's hideout. Amegakure was _compromised_...and as far as Hidan had told Shiro, Konan, the Amekage, was _part_ of it.

And Sakura had given her everything she'd known at the time about Akatsuki. If not for the fact that Sakura now had an inside agent, it could have been disastrous. Akatsuki knowing what information _she_ knew meant that they could prepare, and make sure to send people to face her that she had nothing on.

_I hate this fuckin' place. _Hidan monologued in his own mind as he walked. _Wet and cold and fuckin' miserable. But I figure you better see all the fuckers you're up against. _

There was a tunnel leading into the ground beneath Ame, and it went _deep_. As Hidan walked, he passed two others that Sakura did not recognize, though each wore the trademark Akatsuki cloak. One looked to be a young man, with long, blonde hair, and he had a somewhat friendly rapport with Hidan.

"We're off to Oto to take care of your little pink friend. I'll save you an arm, yeah? If there's even _that_ much left."

"You better kill her properly, Dei, you little shit, she deserves that much. Make it _painful_."

"I'll make it _art_, I'll promise you that."

The figure next to the blonde man was far harder to get a read on. He didn't even look human, and Hidan was pointedly not looking his way.

_Deidara. You spent time in Iwa, right? So you might have heard of __**him**__. He's a fun guy, I'd have sent him to the enclave if Akatsuki hadn't gotten him first. The other bastard is Sasori. He was apparently hot shit in Suna once upon a time, but he's a creepy shit and I hate listening to him._

Deidara. Onoki had spoken of Deidara once or twice, and apparently this young man had also been Onoki's disciple once upon a time, before 'artistic differences' had caused him to leave the village. He was only a few years older than she was, and yet already considered strong enough to stand with Akatsuki. He'd be formidable, but she knew Onoki could send her some tips.

Sasori...perhaps Gaara would know of him, and if not, a query to Temari was in order.

The tunnel eventually opened up to a large chamber, and it was within that Hidan showed her the Statue.

It was enormous, and there were what appeared to be hundreds of seals overlaid over the parts that were already in position. It was still being built, by the look of things, since it was covered with ladders and workers molding the stone with chakra. At the bottom of the statue stood a man with bright orange hair, who had strange piercings lining his face.

_That's the bitch in charge right there. Goes by Pein. Don't know how the fuck he works but his eyes are strong and he can easily kick my ass if I piss him off. _

Pein looked towards Hidan, then, and Sakura felt Hidan sneer in turn. Clearly Hidan didn't mind showing his disdain to the leader of Akatsuki, but she felt a small layer of fear nonetheless. Hidan was _afraid_ of someone. That alone was unnerving.

"Hidan." The man spoke, his voice somehow imposing and empty all at once. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm fuckin' bored, cut me a break. Kakuzu hasn't found the next target yet."

"Be bored elsewhere. You know this is delicate work."

"Yeah, yeah, I was just hoping to find Kisame down here for a spar. Get off my ass."

Hidan turned and left, but the message had been sent. This was the place where Akatsuki would be sealing away Jinchuuriki, and the Statue was the vessel.

_Itachi and Kisame haven't been back in a long while. Leader's actually worried they fucked off for good, but he'll never admit it. You haven't seen them around, have you? They're strong ass motherfuckers, you don't wanna cross them unless you have to._

If Sakura could have swallowed uneasily, she would have. Itachi and Kisame, unaccounted for by even Akatsuki? What could it mean?

_Zetsu's probably skulking around, but he's more intelligence gatherer than a good fight. Fucker turns tail every time I ask for a spar. You could take him, I'm sure. And that's everyone, so you better fucking remember it. I'm not giving you the tour again._

Sakura woke shortly after that, confused. That was...everyone?

Then what about the masked man?

If it was someone that even Hidan hadn't seen, that meant they were operating in the shadows, and they knew that Sakura knew it. Ten Akatsuki members overall, one of which she could trust not to kill her.

She would have liked to place some measure of faith in Konan, but…

Sakura sighed.

When Hidan connected with her again, she sent him her thanks. When he continued to stay connected, it was awkward at first, and even more awkward when it continued to oscillate. She'd connect, then he would, and at first, for the most part, they were silent observers of each other.

Eventually, however, Sakura began to _think_.

Hidan had unfiltered access to her thoughts, after all, and maybe it was a bit weird but since she couldn't exactly block him out, she might as well take advantage of it. She vented in her mind, vented worries that she'd told to Gaara and Sai but that still nibbled at the back of her mind. She vented about Konan and her deception, vented about her worries about facing S-ranked shinobi to defend her friend, vented about her lessons and the difficult time she had manipulating nature chakra.

Hidan had a mouth, but a strange way of putting her at ease. He'd tell her she was stupid for worrying, to face the challenges head on like she always had and what would be would 'fuckin' be'. He promised her that Konan would pay one day for giving her the run around, and bitched about his own dealings with nature chakra, useful as it was.

Sakura accepted, after a month of the back and forth, that she kind of _liked_ having a penpal, as weird as the medium of communication was. Jashin had chosen them both, and they were _very_ different, or so she'd thought at first, but…

But one didn't share thoughts for weeks on end without sort of becoming something like friends.

* * *

The third part was acquaintanceship.

As the time came in which Gaara knew they would soon be leaving the enclave, the tanuki concluded his training by introducing him to each of the tanuki that he could summon. Emi had not originally been one, but after some pleading, the Sages took Emi in and tied her to the summoning contract so that Gaara could summon her if she ever wasn't immediately nearby to help. The other tanuki prided themselves in having 'a bit more to offer', but Emi had been his first and he was attached, and after all they'd been through Gaara just considered her part of the team.

The Sages gave him approval upon seeing the chainmail that had been made with his gold and as a final parting gift gave him a gold leaf pin, as proof that he had passed their trials and earned their allegiance. Gaara wore it with pride, and as he left Shikoku for what might be the final time, he felt a quick pang of something that was akin to homesickness. He had grown fond of Shikoku and its quaint village and forest, and though it wasn't _really_ home, he'd miss it.

But he had the alliance of the tanuki secured now, as well as a strong new technique under his belt, and a sort of mental discipline he'd not had before. He was stronger for this. Stronger for Sakura and Sai, stronger maybe even for _himself_, and that had been worth _everything_.

* * *

The third part was...arduous.

It had taken a while for Sai to realize that Konoha had never really been a home, right about the same time that he'd begun to consider the enclave one. This happened right when Sakura informed him that they'd stayed long enough, and they would need to be moving on to Oto.

Sai had never really had to give a meaningful goodbye before, and he decided that it was something he never really wanted to do again.

It was especially more difficult when Ran's crew took the goodbye gracefully. The normally rowdy and belligerent group grew softer and even each came to hug him in turn, before Ran presented him with a gift from the group: a beautiful sword that had each of their names engraved into the metal.

"Once you run with us, you're always one of us." Ran told him with a smile. "I knew it wouldn't be for long but you were fun, pipsqueak."

For the first time in his life, Sai understood what it was like to cry and be happy.

* * *

A road stretched out ahead of them, and Sakura smiled as she saw the land before her. At her sides, Gaara and Sai stood, different yet the same after five months of various trainings and hardships.

"Well?" She asked them both. "To Oto?"

"To Oto." Gaara agreed.

"Let's go confront a snake, shall we?" Sai answered in turn. "I'm sure absolutely nothing will go wrong."

"Idiot." Sakura nudged him with her arm. "You know what we do if it does?"

"We keep moving." Sai replied with a smile.


	69. Act Three Prologue

_Shinobi are cursed to seek violence. _

_I once thought it was simply a trait of humanity. Humanity is, by nature, a predatory race. But that is simply nature itself: we carve out a place for ourselves and fight, tooth and nail, for what we think we deserve. But shinobi? Shinobi are __**cursed**_ _to seek violence. Not in our blood and bones, not in our biology, but in our very chakra. Is it not so that one of the purest manifestations of our chakra is simple killing intent? No chakra-less human can produce such malice and harmful energy with mere biology. It is laced within chakra, a natural part of it. One need only look upon the Bijuu to know this with certainty. They are the oldest forms of chakra, malicious and terrifying. And yet, we did not just seal them away, we transformed them into weapons. Even when faced with something far more predatory than ourselves, so prone are we to violence that we sought to use that power to __**harm**__._

_We are cursed, and like a disease we will spread our malice across the land until we burn ourselves to the ground in the effort of it. There will be no peace so long as chakra runs through our veins. There will be no end so long as the curse thrums within us. _

_But there is a way. There is a way to reset the world. To bring us to where we were before this madness was set upon us. There is a way to restore the natural order. _

_I know you will not like it. You're still naive enough to believe that your words can bring this all to an end. That is what always drew me to you. For a time, I believed it too. But you are incapable of seeing the cold malice in the eyes of those around you, the lust for bloodshed and power that will drive them to twist your work into something as foul as the Bijuu themselves. It is what __**she**_ _wanted. It is what the Sage tried to warn us of so many generations ago. She wants us to destroy ourselves. We are the legacy of her betrayal, and she wants us to suffer for it._

_I will end this. I swear this to you, I will bring about that peace which we have desired for so long. I may fall for this, suffer a thousand lifetimes for what I shall wrought, but in the end we shall survive and there shall be peace, and she will not get her way. _

_I know this may make little sense to you now. And I know you will try to stop me. I say this to you now: this time there will be no hesitation. I will cut you down for your sake, for everyone's sake. But maybe I still hope that we can work as one. You could help me. You could-_

A cold wind blew through the treetops, and his brush came to a halt against the paper. It was here early. He could feel it creeping upon his senses, a hatred that could stop a weaker man's heart and scatter even the hardened predators of the land away from it. He didn't have much time. He needed to send this message out _now_ or else…

_Please. We can do this together._

He tied the small scroll to the leg of his crow and sent it flying into the sky, towards home. Then, he stood and prepared to face a monster.


	70. Chapter 70

Sakura woke with a start, her breathing uneven and her hand flying to the shuriken pouch at her hip. It was dark, still, but the skies were still clear enough to allow the moon to illuminate the fields around them.

"That dream, again?"

Gaara's voice rang through the silence. He didn't bother trying to keep quiet; she'd no doubt woken Sai as well with her movement, and Sakura could tell with a flare of her sensing jutsu that there was nobody with chakra near enough to bother them.

"Same one." She answered with a sigh. "The energy is...whatever they're fighting is too overpowering for me to get a read on them. All I can focus on is writing that _stupid_ letter."

"Can you remember more of what it said?"

"Maybe." Sakura held out her hand just in time for Sai to put a notebook into it. "It's always the same, chakra is cursed, we'll never stop seeking violence. I tried to focus on the later words but it's fuzzy. The person is so distraught even they can't focus." She began to write, trying to piece out every word she'd seen written in her dream. This was the fifth time she'd seen it, and maybe it was difficult to hold onto, but every time she liked to think it was a little bit clearer.

"They think the Bijuu are...malicious? I think that was the word they used. And they keep mentioning a 'she', like the reader was supposed to know who they were referring to."

"I still think it's Kaguya." Sai offered. "They mentioned 'her betrayal', and the Sage. And you've seen a very clear picture of the Sage and his brother 'betraying' their mother."

"But is Kaguya really capable of _cursing_ chakra? The way this person writes, it's like she put her _intent_ into chakra, so that every shinobi ever born would try to destroy themselves in her honor."

"Maybe that's why Lee's so chipper." Gaara spoke up. "No murder chakra."

"Oh come off it, he's got _some_ chakra, he just can't mold it like we can." Sakura countered with an eye roll. "And if Kaguya really cursed us to destroy ourselves, how is it that we built allied villages? How is it that I can think to try and align the villages at all? Whoever it is, they weren't _right_. We're not cursed. At least...we're not _now_."

"Maybe they fixed it. They seemed to think they could."

"Maybe."

Sometimes, Sakura thought to herself, Jashin's visions were more trouble than they were worth.

She rolled over on her pillow and attempted to shut her eyes again. She was in no mood to discuss an ominous letter, not when they were less than a day's walk away from Otogakure's borders.

When the morning came, they hit the road without much delay. Emi led the way, trotting in front of them in order to sniff out anything that Sakura missed with her sensing. Sakura was half-convinced they'd be attacked the instant they crossed the border, but a part of her hoped Orochimaru would at least be _curious_ about her. And Orochimaru was not a stupid man. If he killed her party here, he'd have quite a few villages out for his head at this point. (Not to mention a rampaging Bijuu if he managed to kill Gaara.) No, it would be _really_ stupid to kill her...if Orochimaru was just looking out for himself.

But there was _Akatsuki_, and maybe Orochimaru wasn't part of the organization any longer, but that didn't mean he wouldn't help them out for the right price. Sakura pleaded with Jashin every night to send her visions of Orochimaru, to give her an _inkling_ of what the man was up to, and instead she got vague and infuriating _letter writing_. She didn't know how a stupid letter was more important than the immediate threat ahead of her, and unless she figured it out, she was absolutely certain that letter writing was all she was going to _get_.

Sakura sighed to herself and reflexively let off a wave of her sensing jutsu. This time, however, something hit her _back_.

There wasn't a better way to describe it than a reflection, like she'd sent out a pulse and someone else sent out a pulse in turn, someone who was also reaching out to try and catch wind of her own chakra. It had never happened before, and Sakura stopped dead in her tracks in order to see if she could replicate the sensation again. She sent out a wave, and then two seconds later a wave came back again. Another sensor? It had to be. Sakura sent out a third pulse, determined to figure out the location, and this time her sensing caught wave of at least a dozen signatures, all moving towards her at a rapid pace.

"Unknown entities ahead. At least twelve."

Emi let out a small hiss before running behind Gaara's legs. Sakura saw a familiar cloud of sand begin to make its way around them, and Sai had already pulled out the beautiful blade he'd been gifted with by the Hageshisai. Sakura did not move, but that in and of itself was strategic. She needed stillness, after all, to pull nature chakra into her body.

All at once, the twelve shinobi landed in front of them.

Most of them were wrapped in the black and grey uniform that Sakura remembered from her very first chuunin exam. Their faces were wrapped and their outfits were accented by black spotted scarves. There were a couple, however, that stood out from the rest.

The first was a very large boy whose chakra seemed to aggravate both Sakura and her companions. His face was calm, but something was roiling within him. At first Sakura thought of a Jinchuuriki, but she was becoming familiar with them now, and she knew with certainty that Oto did not have one. It took Sakura a little longer to realize that it was _nature_ chakra that was circling within the boy, but it was bastardized somewhat, as if it was being drawn in when it shouldn't be. Orochimaru had probably experimented on him, if she had to guess, and of _course_ Orochimaru would find interest in getting nature energy for himself. Though Sakura _did_ know that the snake summons were capable of teaching sages...had Orochimaru been denied?

The other shinobi, one who stood at the head of the others, was a girl about her age. She had brilliant red hair and thick glasses, and unlike the others, she seemed quite relaxed. She put a hand on her hip and grinned at Sakura.

"You're a couple months late, you know that?"

Sakura blinked. "I...wasn't aware that I had been expected."

"Oh, don't act so modest. I've heard _all_ about you. I was hoping we could be friends, ya know?" With that, the girl approached her, not even flinching at Gaara and Sai's hostile stares. She held out a hand to Sakura.

"Karin Uzumaki. I'm going to be the next Otokage once the snake kicks the bucket."

There was a confidence to the girl that Sakura appreciated, and while she was a bit curious about how she could talk so openly of Orochimaru's death, she couldn't deny that it was refreshing. "Sakura Haruno." She responded in turn, holding out her own hand before something suddenly came to her. "Wait...Uzumaki?"

"Yup. And yes, I'm probably related to 'that dope from Konoha', before you ask. Uzushio scattered when it fell. I ended up here, Naruto ended up over there. You know how it goes." Karin gave a small shrug. "But that's not the important thing. You're _here_ now, which means things are going to start moving along. Juugo, be a dear and get the carts over here, will you? We're in the presence of an _ambassador_. If Orochimaru isn't going to give her an escort, _we_ have to."

The larger boy simply nodded before leaping away, many of the other Oto shinobi following him.

"I...might be a little confused." Sakura admitted aloud. "So what exactly is going to be moving along?"

"_Lots_ of things, I'll tell you all about them, but first we should get to know each other, shouldn't we?" In a smooth motion, Karin linked her arm around hers and began to walk her forward down the road, pointedly ignoring both Gaara and Sai's death glares. "Orochimaru's been keeping information about you on _lockdown_, so I want to hear _everything_ about what you've been up to. You'll tell me all about your treaty, and I'll let you know all about the Oto rebellion. You'll keep it a secret, won't you? You want the old snake dead as much as any of us."

"Um." Sakura replied eloquently. "I...can't really show any preference towards such a thing, as an ambassador."

"Oh, _naturally_. I'm not asking you for help with it or anything like that, but you being here will definitely make things a little more fun. And I want to assure you that once I'm in charge, I'll be signing your treaty first thing. Oto can't _thrive_ if it's constantly trying to one-up the villages around it, and that means I can't have a stable place to revive my clan. I'd thought certain things would be a long shot until _you_ started running around and 'peacing' up the area. You're my little golden ticket to success, so you'll have my full support."

Sakura was still _really_ confused, but it seemed as though, whatever Karin was planning, she wanted to be on Sakura's good side. She briefly looked back to the boys, who were stalking after them with weapons and sand still at the ready.

Eventually, in the distance, Sakura saw a pair of carts heading towards them. They didn't have horses at the head, however, and in fact...were they moving on their own? They let out an odd sort of hum as they approached, and though Juugo was indeed sitting at the front, he wasn't pulling the cart along...if anything, he seemed to simply be steering it.

"Fresh prototypes straight from Kumogakure." Karin explained as she saw Sakura's surprise. "There's a couple of countries that use steam locomotives for civilian transport. Some genius in Kumo wanted to try making smaller locomotives for personal use. Well, it's not steam powered, but they _are_ Lightning Country, so I guess they used what they were more familiar with. They call them automobiles."

"Kumo made _self-driving carts?_"

"Well, no, you still gotta steer them. But they run off of an electric engine. You use lightning chakra to charge it and it goes for a couple hours, no problem. But they're not very good for long distance yet, and they're not as fast as a proper shinobi run, so it's mostly just civilians that use them. But you've been walking a long way, so you'll appreciate the break, yeah?"

"Y-yeah, but…how did you convince Kumo to give you these?"

"I did a trade. I let them have access to our radio technology and they gave us the design for the carts. Orochimaru was _mad_ but the trade was worth it, so he can't give me shit for it."

"Radio tech?"

"Oh, we have _so_ much to talk about, don't we?"

They climbed into the cart and the cart began to move them along the road. It was bumpy, but Sakura _did_ appreciate the break from walking, and that allowed them to focus on listening to everything Karin had to tell them.

Which was a _lot_.

"If they've got a purple wristband, they're one of mine, so no talking about any of this unless we're all purple." Karin began, handing out wristbands to each of them. "I know you probably won't wear this in public, but if you need to convince one of mine you're safe, you'll need this. Things are a little bit tense on Oto right now. Sasuke's starting to get pretty strong, you see, so everyone's hedging their bets as to whether he or Orochimaru is going to come out on top. Sasuke's with _me_, of course, he's not stupid. He knows Orochimaru's going to be a turd to deal with, so I convinced him to let me tip the odds in his favor. I get to be Otokage, he gets help finding his brother. Win-win."

"...win-win." Sakura replied solemnly. Sasuke and Itachi...Sasuke clearly didn't _know_ about what had happened at Konoha yet, and since Karin had mentioned Orochimaru trying to keep information locked down, Orochimaru clearly had a reason for it. So long as Sasuke was focused on defeating Itachi, he would stay in Oto to get stronger. If Sasuke learned about Danzo...what would happen then? Even Sakura didn't know. Despite all she had thought about Sasuke since her journey had begun, she wasn't sure if she knew Sasuke at _all_.

"We've actually been working with Kumo a little bit for this. They agreed to send me a little bit of manpower in exchange for some of Orochimaru's shit once he kicks it. Ever since Konoha sent them packing over the whole Hyuuga affair, they've been looking for other ways to strengthen their army. The radio tech is a big step in their favor, but Oto developed it first so we've got the best of the best. Short-range radio technology already exists in every country, but we finally figured out how to get instant long-range transmission. I can call someone on the other side of the country right now and get an update on their situation immediately. _And_, unlike those primitive little walkie-talkies, it's not one at a time, so you don't have to wait for the other person to finish before you say something."

"I guess it makes sense that the Sound Village has the best sound tech?"

"Duh." Karin answered with a smile. "And I know _you_ are going to be plenty interested. An ambassador is going to need this kind of tech to manage a whole continent. Once I'm in charge and on the treaty, I'll share the tech with everyone."

"Won't that piss Kumo off?"

"Probably. Which is why you need to get them on the treaty first. I can hold off until then. But they're going to be tough nuts to crack. They _hate_ Konoha, and they're sure as shit ain't fond of most other countries. But they've used nationalism to spur a _lot_ of advancement. They've got technology most countries couldn't even dream up yet. If you can get them on your little peace train, _everywhere_ is going to benefit."

"You don't have to convince me, they're obviously on my list." Sakura insisted. "But right now I'm here for Oto, and that means Orochimaru."

"Naturally. I'll be honest, you haven't got a chance. Orochimaru's a prick and we all know it. If you want my advice, you should use your time here to get the _people_ on your side. Get all the civilians to see that you mean business, get some of the shinobi to realize Orochimaru's time is up."

"You want _me_ to recruit people to _your_ cause."

"Bingo. But, like, indirectly. I go around telling people that I'll sign in with you if I'm in charge. If you get them to like you, they'll like me too. Win-win for both of us. All you gotta do is be your pretty little self and Oto will be in your hands soon enough."

"Unless Orochimaru figures you out."

"Oh, he _already_ knows. I told you he isn't an idiot. He just doesn't think I stand a chance. He doesn't know about my trump card. And _that_ one gets to stay a secret." Karin put a finger to her lips deviously. "Enough about me, though. You need to tell me everything you've been up to. I want to know _all_ about your treaty, alright?"

That, at least, was easy enough, and Sakura considered it practice for her future talk with Orochimaru. She had to be confident in the treaty, and then…

Into the snake's den, as it were.

In a strange way, Karin was a comfort. She talked just about as much as Naruto did, and even had a way of speaking that reminded Sakura of her old teammate. At some point, if the world was ever at peace, she'd have to introduce them. Though, if both became Kage, it would happen soon enough. Karin didn't seem enthused by the concept of long lost family, but Naruto would be _ecstatic_.

The automated cart rattled its way into the heart of Rice Country, and Sakura got her first glimpse of a place that she had only begrudgingly tried to picture before. It was uncharacteristically serene. Rice fields dominated the landscape, but peppered here and there were small little towns. Long electrical wires were stretched across the sky on tall poles, and Karin explained to her that these lines allowed the long distance communication she had spoken of earlier. Maybe this country didn't have half of the shinobi of one of the Elemental Countries, but it had _technology_, technology that Sakura was starting to become envious of. Maybe Karin was doing this for her own gain, but the concept of _every_ country having these communication lines was starting to appeal more and more. Plus, the automated carts would make travel _so_ much more convenient.

Eventually, Otogakure came into view.

The shinobi side of Oto, Karin explained, was entirely underground. But the daimyo's village dominated the aboveground, and it was there among the small cliffs and valleys that the civilians worked to provide for the shinobi that now protected them. The automated carts were parked on the outskirts of the village, and from there Sakura was given a tour.

"Obviously rice is our village's main export, but we're trying to patent sound technology as well. Once everything settles, we expect Oto to be the prime source of communicative technology on the continent. On top of that, I plan to revive Uzushio sealing technology where I can. Orochimaru's stolen a lot of it, so I can nab that from him once he's dead."

'Once Orochimaru is dead' seemed to be the theme, and Sakura was going to allow herself to hope. Maybe things _would_ be simpler if Orochimaru was gone, but if the Third Hokage couldn't take him down, how could Sasuke? How could anyone?

Maybe it was the scared girl in her talking, but she remembered facing Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. Nothing short of the fear of losing her friends had ever scared her quite so badly. Danzo had been a man with powerful tools. Itachi was a man with powerful genetics. Orochimaru...he was just powerful. He was a _monster_.

And as they made their way into a steel-lined building, it finally truly weighed on Sakura that she would be _speaking_ with him soon enough.

Even after all she'd been through, Sakura wanted nothing more than to turn around and not come back. She wanted to hold Emi for comfort, she wanted Gaara and Sai to take her hands, she wanted _anything_ but talking to Orochimaru.

Just as nerve-wracking, she realized, was the prospect of seeing Sasuke again. It had been a long time since she'd felt the passion of her old crush, and her true feelings towards him seemed to oscillate with every passing day. Would she be relieved to see him? Angry? Concerned and upset?

Would she even feel anything for him at all?

"Orochimaru's down below. I'm sure his little snakes have warned him you're coming." Karin told her as they began to descend down a long flight of stairs. "So I'll skip the run around and just take you straight to him. I don't know what he's working on but be prepared to be sick to your stomach, 'cause it's probably gross."

Sakura took a deep breath and, for a moment, held it. The last thing she needed to see was Orochimaru doing his worst on a poor shinobi that had looked at him wrong.

_Remember what Tsunade told you_.

Orochimaru respected those who did not demand respect, but simply acted worthy of it. Those who naturally held strength, those who did not seek attention but _earned_ it. He was drawn to clever minds and he was drawn to unique techniques, and Sakura, in a way, had both. The best way to ensure Orochimaru didn't kill you instantly was to intrigue him, but not _too_ much, lest he decide you were worth taking as his own.

Sakura took another breath as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Showing fear would turn Orochimaru against her in a heartbeat. She reached up to touch her amulet, reciting a small prayer that Shiro had taught her. Jashin had chosen her for a reason. If the worst happened, Jashin would give her strength.

She'd faced down _Akatsuki_, she'd faced down _Danzo_, and this was...simply the next step.

She knew they'd reached Orochimaru when she smelled the blood. The smell was familiar to her now, having survived a civil war and having healed so many reckless Hageshisai in the enclave. But this...this was an unnatural amount. Excessive. Blood spilled for the sake of the spilling, for the sake of setting a scene. Even now, as she arrived, Orochimaru was trying to intimidate her.

The thought strangely made her want to laugh. Orochimaru was going all out to intimidate _her_, a fourteen year old girl who'd gotten lucky enough to be involved in something greater than herself. Orochimaru had _decades_ on her. Orochimaru _already_ terrified her. And yet he was going to extra lengths to make her feel uneasy.

Sakura knew that Orochimaru wasn't scared of her. But did he really think it worth his time to make a young girl even more scared than she already was? Maybe, in a way, she intimidated him in turn.

She remembered why Orochimaru had left Akatsuki, according to what Hidan had told her. He'd tried to take on Itachi and _lost_. Sakura had taken on Itachi and had _survived_.

Huh. Maybe Orochimaru _was_ intimidated by her, even if only a little. And that was the spark of something within Sakura, something she'd needed. Orochimaru was a monster, that was irrefutable. But, deep down...he was human too. He could be defeated, and he could feel fear.

And Sakura _could_ face him. _Would_ face him.

They reached a set of double doors, and Karin knocked several times upon them. The knocks echoed through the tunnels around them. Sakura briefly wondered if the acoustics had been designed in such a way, so that any sound would travel to the stationed guards. It would certainly make it very difficult to sneak in.

The doors creaked open, and Sakura caught a glimpse of someone else she hadn't seen since the chuunin exams. Kabuto Yakushi, his eyes darkened behind his glasses, but his pleasant smile lit up under the lantern light.

"Ah, Sakura. We've been expecting you. Come in, why don't you? And you may bring your...escorts, of course."

Sakura glanced briefly to Gaara and Sai before nodding. "Of course." She echoed back. "So long as I am not intruding on anything important?"

"Nothing that cannot wait, I assure you."

Sakura followed Kabuto past the double doors, a bit saddened to see Karin staying behind. One less friendly face to help her keep her cool. There was another long hallway beyond the doors, and the smell of blood became much more severe. To her right, Sakura saw Gaara's nose wrinkle. She wouldn't have thought he'd be bothered, considering his rather bloody childhood, but perhaps now that he had changed it was a more troubling scent.

"I must admit, I never thought someone like you would become an ambassador." Kabuto commented as they walked. "You always seemed to shrink next to your teammates. Naruto seems more the type to want to yell at everyone to get along."

Sakura ignored the insult. "Naruto's not very good at being diplomatic. He's just very good at being sincere."

"A rarity in the shinobi world, that's true."

"You'd certainly be the one to know about the rarity of sincerity."

"Ah." Kabuto pushed up his glasses with a smirk. "Are you so hurt by my deception, Sakura? If it helps, it was never anything personal. I was just doing my job."

"You were." Sakura replied. "And I can hold nothing against you now." _Not outwardly, anyway_.

At the end of the hall was another set of doors, and it was through there that Sakura saw Orochimaru, undisguised, for the first time.

She'd only seen him disguised before. It was Naruto who had faced him and Kabuto down while retrieving Tsunade, and even during the chuunin exam invasion, she had been far from Orochimaru's influence facing down Gaara. Tsunade had shown her pictures, and Orochimaru was distinct enough to recognize on sight, but that was nothing like simply _seeing_ him now.

He was cutting into a corpse, which was painfully stereotypical considering Sakura's impression of him. The shinobi was covered by a long coat and thick gloves, and the corpse in front of him was...grotesquely malformed. What looked like horns had grown from its skin, and its face was stretched into what could only be a scream. And from what she could see from the 'autopsy' Orochimaru was performing, something was..._very_ wrong with the corpse's internal organs.

Orochimaru didn't even look up, perhaps not yet thinking her worth his time.

_Intrigue him_. Tsunade's voice echoed in her mind.

Well, she _had_ just spent the past few months learning anatomy.

"I'm not entirely sure that kidneys are _supposed_ to be growing in the thoracic cavity, but if that's what you're going for, you succeeded."

She heard a small snort from Sai, and she saw Orochimaru pause in his movement. A smile grew on his face, one that sent shivers down Sakura's spine.

"Yes, an unfortunate side effect. It impeded the subject's breathing quite substantially."

"It can't be typical cancer if its attempting to make functioning organs in unusual places. And the growths on the forehead...they're too symmetrical to be random cancerous growth. Is it bone or keratin?"

"Neither. It's possible it could be a brand new compound. Well...not _brand_ new."

Sakura was briefly reminded of her visions of the Sage of Six Paths, of Kaguya...the horns were quite similar to what they had manifested. So _that_ was what Orochimaru was up to, of _course_. Replicating the power of the progenitors of all shinobi...well, it was in line for what she'd expected of him.

"I think Kaguya's power might be a bit too much for the average shinobi to handle, by the look of things."

Orochimaru's smile deepened. "So you _are_ smarter than you appear. I'd thought as much, considering the fun you let loose in Konoha. I was sad to have missed it."

With that, Orochimaru straightened up and finally _looked_ at her for the first time. His eyes were the same striking gold that she remembered, slitted like a snake's, and it was accented by the purple markings that lined them. He seemed to want to draw attention to his eyes, and _that_ made sense, considering he wanted to wield the Sharingan one day. If he ever did obtain them…

Sakura shivered.

"I'm afraid Konoha wasn't affected as poorly as you might have liked."

"No, but seeing Danzo defeated by a child? That sight would have been _delicious_ to witness." Orochimaru licked his lips, his long tongue only accented by the motion. "And now you are here to try and convince me to sign a peace treaty. You must not know me very well."

"I'm aware my chances are slim. But it is still a greater chance than if I hadn't come at all."

"Ah, rational confidence. So different than the little mouse I met in the woods. Still not enough to take on the role of predator, but...the prey has grown some fangs."

"I'm not the girl I was back then."

"No...no, you are not."

Orochimaru carefully removed his gloves, tossing them expertly into a bin nearby. He removed his coat with a flourish and deposited it onto the back of a nearby chair. "I'll need to clean up." He informed Sakura. "Kabuto, you'll take her to her room. We'll have some fun later, I think."

"Of course, Lord Orochimaru."

There was nothing more to say, it seemed, as Kabuto hastened them out of the room. If the encounter had been a test, it appeared as though Sakura had passed. Either that, or Orochimaru had gotten what he'd wanted out of the exchange. Sakura hoped her mention of Kaguya would be enough to intrigue, and she admittedly _did_ have knowledge of Kaguya that few others had. If Kaguya was what Orochimaru wanted…

Maybe she had a way to convince him to sign the treaty after all.

* * *

They were given access to a large chamber with three bedrooms. Surprisingly hospitable, all things considered, and Sakura had to wonder if it was Orochimaru's intent to house her from the beginning. She was told that Orochimaru would summon her when he was ready, and from there she and the boys were left to their own devices.

(As alone as they could be, of course, with several Oto guards standing outside the doors.)

"He's shorter than I thought he would be." Sai commented, already taking down notes of their brief encounter.

"You're just saying that because Jiraiya and Tsunade are tall."

"Well, he's got quite a reputation too. I guess you just expect villainous folk to be taller."

Gaara had been, and still was, silent. This was also to be expected. Orochimaru had killed Gaara's father and sent Suna into upheaval, but in a way, Orochimaru had pushed Gaara to where he was now. If not for the invasion, Gaara would never have faced Naruto. If not for the invasion, Sakura and Gaara might not ever have met. It was only natural he would have mixed feelings about the man.

Sakura, however, was now absolutely certain how she felt. The man was a creep, and she was going to _loathe_ having to play nice with him. Maybe he could chat over an open corpse like it was any other day, but Sakura had needed to work hard to keep down her lunch. Even now she was still a bit nauseous, and maybe that was why she didn't notice the heavy aura of chakra approaching her until the door to their room flew open with a bang.

Standing there in the doorway, without any pomp or circumstance to his arrival other than the thrown open door, was Sasuke Uchiha.

He was breathing somewhat heavily, as though he had ran a great distance to get here, and he was wearing an open shirt and a large purple rope around his waist. His hair had grown out a bit, and his eyes were looking desperately around the room until they landed on _her_, and from there they narrowed into a determination that Sakura had only rarely seen on him before. There was a part of her that she'd nearly forgotten about that swooned at Sasuke's piercing eyes and bare chest. (Regardless of what she thought of him now, he was still _very_ handsome.) There was another part of her relieved to simply see that he was _alright_, that he hadn't been warped by one of Orochimaru's experiments. He still _looked_ like Sasuke, at the very least. But there was a new part of her that was _furious_ now, not just because he'd barged in without warning, but because so many had worried about him and his future, and here he was having the audacity to look _fine_.

"Sakura." He stated.

"...Sasuke." She answered in turn.

"Fight me."

There was a moment of silence as each of them processed what Sasuke had demanded. Eventually, Sakura couldn't stop herself.

She burst into laughter.


	71. Chapter 71

Maybe it was the shock and indignation on Sasuke's face, but Sakura didn't stop laughing right away.

She watched him stammer, clearly not expecting that reaction from her, and it just sent her into further hysterics. Of course, _of course_ after all this time, after everything they'd been through, Sasuke would just walk in and demand a _fight_.

"D-don't laugh!" Sasuke demanded, stepping forward with a fist raised. "Do you think this is a joke? Do you think you're so much better now that you've fought Itachi?"

Ah, so _that_ was it. He'd heard the rumors. Maybe Orochimaru had even used the rumors to his advantage. _Sakura_ had left the village and gotten strong enough to face Itachi, so Sasuke had truly made the right decision in leaving too. If he could beat _Sakura_…

(And he'd always been far stronger than she could ever reach. Was he really feeling threatened by her now? Did he, like Naruto, see her as a challenge?)

Sakura wiped her eyes and forced herself to be calm. "Hello, Sasuke." She spoke, still out of breath from laughter. "How are you? It's been a year since we've seen each other, hasn't it? You look well. What have you been up to? What sort of weird things has Orochimaru been teaching you?"

"None of _that_ matters!" Sasuke hissed. "I told you, I want you to-"

"I believe..." Sai spoke up, stepping away from his corner with his usual fake smile on his face. "Sakura is attempting to demonstrate the proper etiquette upon seeing an old friend after a long period of absence. Perhaps you might attempt to reciprocate?"

This quieted Sasuke for a moment. He stammered again, glaring at Sai before turning his attention back to Sakura.

"...hello."

He didn't meet her eyes, then, and as Sakura watched him she _saw_ it, saw the boy that got flustered whenever she or Naruto learned something embarrassing about him, whenever he'd missed something that should have been obvious, whenever a mission didn't go quite as planned…

There was still the boy from Team Seven, deep down in there. The boy she'd loved, once. Maybe Orochimaru had been trying to pull him away from such things, but...somehow, it was all still there.

And Sakura realized why a moment later, when an out of breath Karin came dashing into the room. "Sasuke…" She wheezed. "I told you not to harass her, she _just_ got here!"

"I was...just saying hello."

"No, you were challenging her to a fucking fight, I _know_ how you get." Karin jabbed Sasuke's chest with her finger. "You heard she was here and you got so damn excited that you didn't think she might be tired from the journey, huh? Or that she might not be in a position to just run around and spar with the _Otokage's ward_, that it might look bad on her?"

"...hn."

Sakura's laughter turned into giggles as the Uzumaki admonished him. Maybe a year ago she might have been jealous at how close Karin seemed to Sasuke, but at the moment it was simply humorous. Sasuke had gone from peacocking to withdrawing his head into his collar, looking more like a child being scolded and less the menacing Uchiha heir.

"Did you at least apologize to her?" Karin finished with a huff. Sasuke looked back to Sakura, and there was still a gleam in his eyes. She could predict exactly what was coming next.

"I'm not going to apologize for being honest. I want to fight her."

Karin groaned. "I swear, working with you is like herding _cats_. Sakura, you have _got_ to tell me how you managed him."

"Um...I didn't." Sakura admitted sheepishly. "He and Naruto were at it all the time, actually. I kind of just stood by and watched."

"Well no _wonder_ he's all worked up, if he's never seen you fight he's probably all sorts of confused about the rumors going around."

"I've seen you fight." Sasuke added. "You weren't…" He hesitated, but Sakura knew exactly what he'd planned on saying.

"I wasn't strong?" She finished for him. "I wasn't talented? I wasn't a genius? I wasn't a stubborn, chakra-pumped beast like Naruto? Well, believe it or not, Sasuke, I've been training too. If you thought I was just going to stand by while you and Naruto got stronger, then you're an idiot."

"...did you really fight Itachi?"

Sakura sighed. Of course he wouldn't let that go. Itachi, his brother, the reason he was _here_. "Yes." She answered honestly. "But it wasn't much of a fight. I accidentally found a rather stupid way out of his genjutsu and then I broke the cliff he was standing on. The fight almost killed me. Whatever you've heard, it was probably _completely_ exaggerated."

Sasuke nodded, and in a way he looked relieved. "I see." He answered. "So you didn't…"

"Like I said. Not much of a fight. Still want to take me on?"

Sasuke met her eyes again, and this time she saw it: the flare up of the Sharingan. It sent shivers down her spine. She'd fought _enough_ of those damn eyes, and she really, _really_ wasn't keen on fighting them again. But despite this, something about Sasuke's response made her feel differently.

"Yes."

It was the same as when Naruto had declared his own desire to challenge her. The same as when she'd faced down Lee in the chuunin exams and had been able to match him, when once she'd thought his own strength unobtainable. There was something about her companions thinking her _worthy_ of challenging that warmed her heart in a way she couldn't quite explain.

But...Karin made good points. She wasn't exactly tired from her journey, but she _was_ certain that going around challenging other shinobi wouldn't exactly look good on her as an ambassador intending to keep a neutral position. Orochimaru probably wouldn't say no to the spar, in fact she figured he'd enjoy seeing his prodigy face up against her, or even just get a chance to see her own skills in action. But how would it reflect on her if she took up every challenge thrown her way? Or maybe she was looking at it wrong...maybe it would show other nations that she was strong?

She frowned, biting her lip as she considered things. But before she could even think of an answer, it was Sai that spoke up again.

"I don't know. What makes you think you're worthy of challenging our most esteemed Head Ambassador?"

Sasuke looked annoyed as he addressed Sai again. "...do you not know who I am?"

"I know you're the Uchiha scion, that you've trained under Orochimaru, and that you're not very respecting of privacy. It's more than you know about me. It's more than you even know about Sakura. It appears as though you have little idea of what she's done since you've parted ways. A truly good shinobi would have attempted to gather information to use to his advantage before challenging his opponent. You know…" Sai smiled again. "Asking her if she's been well. Asking about what she's gotten up to since you've parted ways. Asking who she's trained under. That proper etiquette I mentioned earlier."

"Sai…" Sakura warned. "You don't need to antagonize him…"

"Sai is right."

For the first time, Gaara spoke. He stood up from his seat, looking unusually angry as he moved to stand between her and Sasuke. "When we first met, you reminded me of myself. You only thought of one thing. I wasn't surprised when I heard you had left the village to seek power. I was only surprised that Naruto couldn't reach you as he reached me."

With a flourish, he unraveled the sand scroll on his back and slammed it onto the ground next to him, causing Karin to flinch.

"Sai asked if you were worthy of fighting Sakura. You think you've earned some sort of right to take her on. As if nothing you've done in the past matters. As if nothing you've done to _her_ matters. You probably never even thought of her until you heard what she'd begun to do. Meanwhile, Sakura's never stopped thinking of you _all this time_. She has a lot to tell you. A lot of things you need to hear. But I don't think you're ready for that yet, if all you can think of is testing your mettle."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, briefly, but his determined expression faltered. His Sharingan faded, and his eyes returned to their natural dark color.

"...you weren't supposed to come after me. You were supposed to stay _safe_."

"Like I said, you're an idiot if you think I'd just sit back and never change." Sakura answered in turn. "But I guess it makes sense, huh? I was always the one you and Naruto were protecting. Even when I tried to protect you...you still had to come to my rescue. When I think back, it's little wonder you didn't think much of me. That you were annoyed by me. There's a part of me that's happy that you want to fight me, you know? But there's also a part of me that's...still angry. At you. At myself. At the world for not doing better by all of us. That's why I decided to become an ambassador, you know? I thought, if the world won't work for us, I'll _make_ it work. So I trained. I learned. I got stronger. And I got chosen for something extraordinary. I thought if I got stronger, if I could walk at you and Naruto's side, that you'd accept me, but the truth is...I don't _care_ if you accept me anymore. I'm strong, and I don't need to fight you to know it."

She stood, moving her way forward until she was standing directly in front of Sasuke. "You really want to fight me so badly? Then sit down with us for dinner and tell me how life has been for you. Then, when we're done, _maybe _I'll indulge you."

Sasuke let out another one of his 'hn' grunts, but did not protest.

* * *

Sakura wasn't surprised that dinner was a rice based dish, but she _was_ surprised when the dish used a variety of Iwa spices to season the meat and sauces used with it.

"I figured you might miss a touch of home." Karin told her as they sat. "We _do_ trade with Iwa when we can, so I figured I could pull some strings. I do it for Sasuke too, sometimes, whenever Orochimaru isn't dragging him to one of his little 'family dinners'."

Sasuke glowered at this, though Sakura got the impression it was more bad memories than from Karin specifically.

"I admit...this really isn't the impression I'd had of Otogakure."

"Good. I'm doing my damndest to fix Orochimaru's mess. If I wasn't here helping morale, he wouldn't have a village and he knows it. If he had his way, I doubt he'd keep any loyal shinobi, no matter how strong he is, considering he enjoys using anyone who crosses him as a test subject. And anyone who pleases him too."

"But not you?"

"I told him if he messed with me, he risks me not be able to make anymore Uzumakis. He wants to fuck around with my bloodline, he needs to not kill it off in the process. Naruto's the only other Uzumaki I know, and from what Sasuke told me, I don't know if I'm going to count on him to help me revive the clan."

"Oh really?" Sakura raised an eyebrow in Sasuke's direction. "You must be behind on your intel. Naruto's become a bit of a ladies' man since you left." Well...for one lady, at least, but if Ino could come to see Naruto's good qualities, Sakura didn't doubt others might as well. And Hinata had always had a crush on him, as long as she could remember.

"...I don't believe you." Sasuke retorted.

"You left. Someone had to fill the void, and Naruto _is_ the Hokage's apprentice now."

"Hn." Sasuke answered. "That's...good."

"You know, I think he might actually faint if he heard you say that."

"It's what he wanted. Him forgetting about me was his best option."

"Oh, he definitely didn't forget." Sakura sighed. How could Naruto have forgotten? Especially not after Danzo, after learning everything that had happened to the Uchiha. And that led her to the most pressing dilemma yet.

How the _fuck_ was she going to break all of this to Sasuke?

It was clear he didn't know. If he knew, he'd be demanding to know more from her. He wouldn't have settled for a dinner, wouldn't have simply asked her about her time with Itachi. Orochimaru likely knew, and must have worked hard to make sure Karin hadn't caught wind of the news herself. Why had Orochimaru kept it from Sasuke? Did Orochimaru fear what Sasuke would do if he knew? And if she told him now, before getting a proper chance to talk with Orochimaru, would that ruin any sliver of a chance she had of convincing the man to sign her treaty?

But telling Sasuke was the _right_ thing to do. She'd come here mostly to do that, to give him that which had been stolen from his clan, to make sure he understood in full what Itachi had been forced to do…

There was one important factor to consider: she wanted them to be alone when she told him. She wanted it to be a private affair, so he could take the news how he wanted without fear of what others would think. So far, that opportunity had not arisen. Sakura decided then that if she could get Sasuke alone, she would tell him. And if that time didn't come before Orochimaru shoved her out of his village, she'd _make_ time, regardless of the consequences.

"So...are your companions always this quiet?"

Sakura was broken from her thoughts by a question from Karin. Sure enough, Gaara was still glowering at Sasuke, and Sai was keeping to himself, though he gave a fake smile to Karin at her question.

"Gaara's attempting not to let his emotional baggage make an ass of him at the dinner table." He told them. "And I am enjoying a good meal."

"They're not usually this quiet." Sakura clarified as she picked at her food. She still wasn't quite sure what had gotten Gaara so sour. Was he really that upset with how Sasuke had treated her? It had been a while since she'd really talked much about Sasuke at all, before their training in Iwa, now that she thought about it. Had he been carrying a grudge all this time? In a way, Sakura could understand. Gaara had once traded blows with Sasuke and Naruto, who'd been protecting _her_. Maybe he was resentful of the fact that Sasuke had turned around and 'abandoned' her, after everything they'd been through. Maybe, in a strange way, their roles had reversed. Now it was Gaara who was working to protect her, and Sasuke that was itching for a fight. It was admittedly a frustrating turnaround, if she looked at it from Gaara's perspective.

Well...she needed to break the ice, then. Otherwise it was going to be an awkward dinner.

"So...what do you think of Oto, Sasuke? Do you prefer it to Konoha, now that you're here?"

Sasuke looked at her, not speaking at first. Sakura wondered if he thought she would judge her for his answer.

"...it's the same." He finally replied. "Same sort of people. Same sort of living."

Sakura had a feeling that wasn't his _real_ answer, but she wouldn't pry where he wasn't comfortable.

"That's good to know." She answered. "My fear with Oto being such a new village was that it might be difficult to integrate it into the treaty, if its hierarchy was too different."

"If it works, it works." Karin shrugged. "I'm not opposed to changing it up, but people like to follow what's familiar. And Orochimaru was always a bit jaded that 'Sarutobi-sensei' favored Namikaze over him for the Hokage position. He wanted to be a Kage, so he just up and made himself one. I can kind of respect the thought."

"Respect? From Karin Uzumaki? I never would have thought it possible."

Sakura almost flinched as Orochimaru's voice seemed to sound directly next to her ear. She felt Gaara's sand rush to curl around her and could hear Sai shuffle for his weapons. Orochimaru just chuckled.

"So on edge? Is it possible that the ambassadors feel unwelcome in my home? Karin, you clearly haven't been doing your best to accommodate them."

It was Karin's response that brought Sakura away from her shock. The girl, somehow, had managed to _roll her eyes_ at Orochimaru's entrance, as though she was used to the man crashing her dinner.

"Have you considered, Lord Orochimaru, that you're a creepy bastard even at the best of times?"

"It's possible that it was mentioned to me once or twice." Orochimaru answered, and Sakura couldn't help but shiver again as she _heard_ the man run his tongue across his lips. "Forgive me, but I couldn't help but get excited when I heard that my Sasuke might be showing off his skills for our guests."

She didn't like how Orochimaru referred to Sasuke possessively, and judging by the look on Sasuke's face, _he_ didn't like it either. But he didn't protest it, so Sakura held her tongue.

"We were talking about potentially having a friendly match, if you would permit it." She answered. "I know that Sasuke is quite eager to show off everything you've been teaching him."

"Is he now? Well doesn't that just warm the heart?" Orochimaru pulled himself into a seat with an unnatural smoothness, and Sakura caught Kabuto lurking nearby out of the corner of her eyes. She wished, for a brief moment, that she'd had a bit of Sai's emotional training, or even some of Gaara's practiced death glare. Both of _them_ hadn't almost squeaked at the sound of the Sannin behind them.

"So, which of you will be playing with Sasuke later?"

Sakura opened her mouth, but Sai answered before she could.

"I will be."

Sakura whipped her head towards him in disbelief. Just what the hell was he thinking? Even Sasuke seemed baffled at the response, and said as such.

"I don't care about _you_."

"Then handling me shouldn't take much of your time." Sai replied with a smile. "But I have to make sure you're worth the Head Ambassador's time, you see. I wouldn't want her to waste her talents on someone who couldn't even get past her bodyguard. It's the same way I couldn't just walk up to Lord Orochimaru and demand a spar, not without proving myself in some fashion. If Sakura doesn't have to lift a finger, she shouldn't."

There was more to it. Sakura could tell by now from Sai's tone that he was choosing his words quite carefully. He hadn't spoken up before at Sasuke's initial challenge...only now that Orochimaru had shown interest in watching.

Ah, it was obvious now. Sai was trying to make sure she didn't show her abilities to Orochimaru unnecessarily. Orochimaru was, at the moment, more a potential enemy than a potential ally. The less he knew about her and the abilities Jashin had given her, the better. Sasuke, however, Sai seemed to not care as much about. Maybe he was banking on the fact that Sasuke had been Sakura's teammate, once upon a time, and was no friend of Orochimaru.

She gave Sasuke a small shrug. "It works for me. If you can get through Sai, I'll let you have a round with me."

Sasuke was soured by the change, that much was obvious, but Sakura could explain the politics of it later. For now…

"Dinner has been lovely, but I'd hate to waste your time, Lord Orochimaru. Perhaps, once dinner has settled, we can move on to Sasuke and Sai's spar?"

"Yes." Orochimaru's grin widened. "I would _very_ much like to see that."

* * *

It was no surprise to Sakura that Orochimaru had plenty of underground training arenas. She had no doubt Sasuke was familiar with all of them. Equally less surprising was that these arenas had balcony sections for spectators. Sakura wondered with an inward shudder how often Orochimaru came to watch Sasuke train. There was a twisted logic to the man wanting to keep a close eye on what he considered his 'future body'...but that didn't make it any less horrible.

Still, it provided a convenient location to watch Sasuke and Sai face off. The two boys were now standing in the middle of the arena, facing each other. Sasuke looked annoyed, still, at having been denied the fight he really wanted. Sai, for being about to face down yet another Sharingan wielder, looked the picture of calm.

"Please don't hold anything back." Sai asked. "And I'll be sure to give you the same honor."

"You must be desperate for this fight to be over quickly." Sasuke answered in turn.

"Perhaps. I'm sure the student of Lord Orochimaru will prove a more than adequate challenge for me." Sai looked up at Sakura with a smile. "Call the start, would you?"

"Um...sure." Sakura blinked. "On the count of three?"

Neither of the boys moved. Sakura knew, however, that Sai was more than ready, and she had no doubt Sasuke was as well.

"Alright. Three...two...one..._begin!_"

It happened so fast that she almost missed it. Sasuke, no doubt intending to end the fight as quickly as possible, had pumped chakra to his legs and thrown himself forward with incredible speed. It might have worked, too. Sasuke had gotten even faster since she'd seen him last.

But Sai had literally been training against opponents that threw themselves wholeheartedly into battle, and it was Sasuke's bad luck that Sai had _also_ decided to lunge forward with all the speed his chakra could give him, swinging his blade in a horizontal arc towards Sasuke's neck. It was likely only thanks to the Sharingan that Sasuke was able to dodge it all, and after they passed, each skidded to a halt at the opposite sides of the arena.

"Oops." Sai said nonchalantly. "Were you expecting me to stand still? My apologies."

Sasuke didn't answer, and it took him only moments to recover before he was lunging for Sai again, though this time not quite as fast. Sakura could see that his attitude had abruptly changed. No longer did Sasuke look annoyed; in fact, he looked intrigued. Sai had shown enough skill, it seemed, to make him interested in the fight.

The two clashed again. This time Sasuke had drawn his own katana, and Sakura realized that she was seeing Sasuke use _kenjutsu_ for the first time since she'd known him. It was interesting to consider that someone here was teaching him how to wield a blade. (She just really couldn't picture Orochimaru going through katas with _anyone_, let alone Sasuke, but who else would Orochimaru have _allowed_ to teach Sasuke anything?) Sasuke had gotten skilled, there was no doubt, but in kenjutsu he'd gotten a bad mashup with Sai. The Hageshisai _loved _to spar with sharp objects, and a katana was a lot simpler than the trick weapons he was no doubt used to dodging around. Not only that, but Sai was likely more aggressive than anyone Sasuke was used to facing. Sai risked getting small cuts in order to play at getting larger hits on his opponent. Not even a minute into the fight, Sai managed to rake the tip of his blade through Sasuke's chest, drawing first blood.

(Sasuke was lucky, Sakura thought, since the Hageshisai typically used painful poisons on their weapons in _real_ fights.)

Despite the minor wound, Sasuke did not lose face. His Sharingan whirled, and he simply started up the spar anew. He wasn't using any jutsu, Sakura noted. Only the blade and whatever chakra he needed to keep pace with. Was he trying to preserve? Hoping to be able to use jutsu in the fight against her, should he win this one? Or maybe it was a statement: he didn't need to waste chakra defeating Sai.

"Such an aggressive fighting style." Orochimaru commented next to her, watching the battle with that eerie predatory gaze. "I would have expected a member of Root to act more cautiously."

"He's not Root anymore." Sakura countered. "At the moment, no one is."

"True, too true. I'd had my suspicions that you'd found some sort of training in Yugakure, but I admit, I couldn't quite determine what until I saw that necklace of yours. He fights very similarly to an old acquaintance of mine."

_Hidan_, Sakura thought to herself. The two hadn't been part of Akatsuki together for long, but it had apparently been long enough. And it made sense...why _wouldn't_ Orochimaru have been drawn to Hidan's immortality?

She kept her eyes on the clashing blades below, but now her mind was on the conversation. Orochimaru was speaking to her without her prompting it. This was her chance. A chance to continue to intrigue him.

"I would ask why you haven't sought out the enclave yourself, but I suppose the draw of Kaguya's power would be far more appealing."

"Would you rather follow a god or become one?"

"Being a god comes with quite a lot of responsibility."

"I wouldn't expect to hear an ambassador complaining of responsibility. It seems to me that you're simply lacking in ambition."

"Now _that's_ one I haven't heard yet." Sakura couldn't help but chuckle. Everyone else seemed to think she was _too_ ambitious. "I am trying to unify the shinobi world."

"And wouldn't it be so much _easier_ if you were a god?"

"So what, are you saying you intend to be competition?"

"Was there ever any doubt?" Orochimaru's grin returned, though his eyes were still fixated on the battle below. "Well, _I_ had doubts, when I heard about your intent to run around and make peace. I thought it a boring activity. And yet…"

"And yet." Sakura agreed. It was strange, hearing Orochimaru talk so...nonchalantly. He'd been chatty when she'd met him in the Forest of Death, but she'd considered that an intimidation tactic. Maybe he was actually just...naturally wordy? Or, more likely, he liked hearing himself talk.

"I know that you have a lot to talk to my Sasuke about."

Sakura felt herself freeze. Of course, _of course_ Orochimaru would have known she planned to tell him, she'd been stupid not to think he would.

"He wouldn't believe it from me, you know. Even though I've never been _anything_ but honest with him."

Sakura doubted that. "You do have something of a reputation."

"Naturally." Orochimaru gave a small bow of his head. "But you might give me a run for my money, _Sharingan Breaker_."

Sakura inwardly groaned. Of _course_ that nickname had stuck. Orochimaru might have even _started_ it, if only to fuel Sasuke's desire to get stronger. _Sakura faced down Itachi, Sakura __**beat**_ _Itachi…_

"I suppose there's worse nicknames to have."

"But you can see, of course, why your abilities might interest me. Despite what some may have told you, I'm a reasonable man, Sakura Haruno."

...wait, where was he going with this?

"First Itachi, then Danzo. No pushovers, either of them. Each equipped with...similar assets."

He'd known about Danzo's Sharingan, of _course_ he did. Sakura had to wonder if Orochimaru's research had helped Danzo craft that disaster of an arm.

"I'm admittedly curious. You have information that intrigues me. And you desire something from me. I could make this visit very easy for you."

Sakura tensed. She knew where this was going now, even if she hadn't been able to see before. Of _course_ Orochimaru would be interested in _that_.

"Simply tell me how you managed to overcome the genjutsu of the Sharingan, and I shall humor your little peace treaty."

This was a man who had faced down Itachi Uchiha and lost. Who coveted the Sharingan, but now knew that it could be overcome. Orochimaru was _worried_, Sakura realized. Worried that if he took Sasuke's body, there would still be people capable of challenging him. Her reputation had made her a _threat_ without her even knowing it.

She didn't really have anything _unique_ in either of those scenarios. Jashin had helped her purge her body of chakra to break Itachi's technique, and Danzo's Izanami had been broken with simple logic. But Orochimaru didn't _know_ that. He no doubt thought it was something fancy. A bloodline limit, maybe, or a jutsu Sakura had invented that granted her a measure of protection. Orochimaru needed the knowledge, or else his 'future reign' would never be secure.

Sakura had something Orochimaru wanted. But...was it worth giving? Her treaty signed, yes, but if Orochimaru learned her tricks for fighting Sharingan...what would that mean for the future?

"I...will need time to consider your offer, Lord Orochimaru, generous as it is." Sakura stammered an answer, attempting to turn her focus back to the fight in order to steel her own nerves. "A shinobi's techniques are their life, after all."

"How true that is. And you are my honored guest, of course. You may stay here until you give your answer."

Underhandedness covered by false generosity. What Orochimaru was truly saying was that her welcome would be up the instant her mind was made. And Orochimaru would likely not tolerate much delay.

She swallowed hard, but nodded. "I thank you for your generosity, Lord Orochimaru. I shall get you your answer as quickly as I am able."

It would do, for now. And in the meanwhile, there was a battle raging below, a fury of sword swipes back and forth across the arena. Sai was strong, but so was Sasuke, and Sakura wondered if the battle would simply come down to a matter of stamina. A battle of wills, and all the while she was fighting a battle of her own.

_Give Orochimaru my secrets to countering the Sharingan...or fail in winning Otogakure to my treaty, possibly having to bank on Karin one day taking up the Kage mantle?_

She'd come here with little hope of getting Orochimaru to sign it at _all_. Now that there was a tangible option in her grasp...Sakura was even more uncertain.


	72. Chapter 72

**I've always hated snakes.**

Gaara understood the sentiment now more than ever, as he listened to Orochimaru speak. There was an archetype he had learned about during his time with the tanuki, a certain characterization that had been referred to as 'Asebi'. Asebi was a plant, an unassuming thing with quaint white flowers that simply looked pretty to the untrained eye, but Gaara knew from his brief poisons training in Suna that the flowers were toxic and potentially lethal. Similarly so were those of the Asebi archetype: they drew you in, offering gifts, honeyed words, pretty promises...but were inevitably self-serving and detrimental to those they drew in. The Uchiha had already drank of the Asebi nectar, and only time would tell if he would realize it for the poison that it was. Gaara didn't necessarily fault him for being drawn in by Orochimaru. Even the tanuki had warned him about Orochimaru's sort and how to deal with them, especially since, in the grander game of shinobi politics, they were bound to run across them more often than not. The Asebi personality desired power and influence and were _good_ at getting it. Lying was second nature to them, but even more so than lying was their ability to twist the truth to serve their own needs, to use honesty with as much finesse as deceit. Orochimaru _didn't_ lie often, and that was what Sakura needed to learn to navigate. Orochimaru likely would sign Sakura's treaty in exchange for information about navigating the Sharingan, but of course was likely leaving out that signing a treaty didn't necessarily guarantee he'd honor it. Gaara trusted Sakura to know this, though he would still bring up his thoughts with her later. If he had learned anything from the tanuki, Sakura didn't just need a bodyguard. She needed _advisors_. Sai, to Gaara's secret dismay, had already begun to fill that role before Gaara had even realized it needed filling. (But in his own defense, the two of them both knew that Gaara was the far superior bodyguard.)

Time at the enclave had given them both what they'd needed. Gaara had learned about navigating and understanding people. Sai had learned about killing them. And as Sai clashed with the Uchiha below and Gaara in turn analyzed Orochimaru here, he realized that they'd gotten lucky. He was much more prepared to deal with a 'snake' now than he'd ever been.

**I don't know. I still say you should kill him. **

Gaara suppressed the desire to chuckle. Some things never changed.

Killing Orochimaru likely would make things easier, if they could attempt it. Karin also exuded Asebi personality at times, but unlike Orochimaru, she clearly wasn't a sociopath. She would be a far more reasonable Otokage at first glance, and also wasn't actively trying to 'become god'. (A sentiment that had made Shukaku snarl in disgust upon Orochimaru's mention.)

**Kaguya's power will destroy him or destroy us. You think I'm scary? Try nine of me packed into ****_him_****.**

Gaara was usually hesitant to admit fear. But Orochimaru, with that kind of power? That _did_ scare him.

It didn't seem as though he was very close to success, however, which Shukaku had insisted meant they should strike before he became anymore dangerous. It would be considered a 'public service'. There wasn't any nation that didn't fear Orochimaru in some capacity, so wasn't it just doing the world a favor to get rid of him?

The answer was an unfortunate 'no'. Killing Orochimaru in the middle of treaty negotiations was the antithesis of what they stood for. Killing him without due cause, without the explicit backing of all the allied nations...it could destroy everything they'd built. If Sakura could simply kill whomever she disagreed with, who wouldn't she kill to 'keep the peace'? It would be an alliance raised in fear, and maybe a few of the newly signed on nations had signed on to avoid Sakura's wrath after the Danzo incident, but Sakura had never intended it to go that way. An alliance of mutual respect and understanding. Sakura wasn't just here to try and force Orochimaru to sign a piece of paper. She was here to make him _respect_ her.

That was the game she played, and the odds were stacked against her far more here than anywhere else. They'd all known coming in that they were playing with a loser's hand to start.

The two had stopped talking now, content to watch the spar below. It was a sham of a spar, in a way. Sasuke was avoiding using much chakra so that he might go all out against Sakura, and Sai was avoiding using many of the tricks he'd learned through the Hageshisai in what Gaara figured was a far too subtle attempt to tell Sasuke that he wasn't worth his time. Both were being stubborn and both were being arrogant. It was...a little bit funny. Perhaps the most passive aggressive duel he'd seen in his life.

**Sai is drawing it out. Exhausting the Uchiha. Even if he loses, the Uchiha will be too tired to give Sakura a true fight.**

And thus, Sakura wouldn't have to show her full capabilities in front of Orochimaru, and Sasuke would still get his spar. _That_ was admittedly clever, though it was becoming more boring by the minute. Gaara let his gaze wander around the room, a habit he'd learned in the tanuki. Memorize your surroundings, memorize the people in them. See how they moved, where they looked, what they were interested in. Orochimaru watched Sasuke with a disgustingly predatory gaze, but that was to be expected. Sakura, too, was intent on the match. And then…

Then there was that other man, Kabuto, who was just as snakeish as his master. Gaara wasn't quite as familiar with him, but he'd heard enough from Sakura to know to be wary. A Konoha spy, which meant he was more than capable of playing up a persona to get in close to others. And right now…

Kabuto was distracted. Very, _very_ distracted.

He hid it well, but Gaara had spent the past few months learning to watch the movement of eyes and the subtle twitches of the body. Kabuto was _pretending_ to watch the match, but like clockwork he kept looking towards a nearby wall...funnily enough, it looked like he was _looking_ at a clock. It was nearing the end of the hour, so...Kabuto was likely expected somewhere, or was managing something time sensitive. Another gross experiment of Orochimaru's? But if so, why hide his worry over the time?

Sakura had her eye on the match. Right now, Gaara decided, he would watch this Kabuto.

His suspicions were confirmed at five minutes to the hour, at which point Kabuto quietly approached Orochimaru and whispered something too quiet for Gaara to hear. With a short bow, Kabuto excused himself. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it really was just another of Orochimaru's experiments. But Gaara was curious now, and he hadn't learned spying and information gathering from the tanuki just to not use it when something piqued his interest.

He slowly closed one eye, the eye furthest from Orochimaru and out of the man's view. He felt Shukaku's energy rise in tandem with his own, though he really only needed a little bit of energy to connect his optic nerve to his sand. From there, he sent his sand in the thinnest possible cloud out the door, until he could reform his Third Eye and send it after Kabuto.

He was distracted briefly by Orochimaru licking his lips, seen out of the corner of his other eye. Sasuke, it seemed, had just landed a glancing blow on Sai. It wasn't much; Sai had come home with far worse. Gaara glanced down just in time to see Sai land a blow on Sasuke in turn. Both were going for nonlethal, it seemed, but that didn't mean they weren't aiming to make a few scars.

**He should have used poisons and knocked the idiot out. **

_No_, Gaara thought with a smile. _That would have just pissed Sasuke off later. _

His Third Eye was getting an interesting glimpse of the tunnels beneath Otogakure, and Gaara did his best to remember every twist and turn, every door that he came across. He could have Sai map it later, for their convenience, especially if Kabuto was heading somewhere interesting. But the most interesting thing that Gaara saw wasn't Kabuto at all, but _Karin_.

He doubted Kabuto had noticed. Even Gaara hadn't expected to catch a glimpse of the Uzumaki girl in the _vents_ of all places. But it seemed as though he wasn't the only one monitoring Kabuto, and that alone was something of a relieving thought. He'd have to question her about it later.

Kabuto eventually came to a halt at a door. He looked both ways before opening it and entering, and Gaara sent his sand slinking in under the door after him. The room looked more like a closet than anything interesting. There were boxes of medical equipment, but they were dusty, likely not used in some time.

Kabuto moved to the middle of the room before kneeling. Then, to Gaara's surprise, something appeared in the room.

It looked like a warped version of a man, but not solid, more like a Bunshin...but unlike a bunshin, this image seemed to flicker like a flame and showed very little detail other than what looked to be two eyes.

"Lord Sasori." Kabuto announced. "Sakura Haruno and the Jinchuuriki have arrived in Otogakure."

Gaara had to stop himself from freezing up. Sasori, that was a name he'd learned well in the recent months. Sasori of the Red Sand, who'd murdered the Third Kazekage, who'd mastered the art of puppetry before turning against his village and going to join _Akatsuki_.

Kabuto was a damned Akatsuki _spy_ and he was leading one of the most lethal men alive right to them.

"Finally." Sasori replied, his voice heavy with a distortion that Gaara didn't quite understand. "She kept us waiting for far too long. We will proceed with the extraction of the Jinchuuriki. Ensure Orochimaru does not interfere."

"And Haruno?"

"Deidara will deal with her personally. We will take the Jinchuuriki and she will be eliminated. You may do what you wish with the spare."

"Understood."

The visage of Sasori disappeared, and Kabuto rose to his feet. Before the man could turn around, Gaara pulled his eye out of the room and dismissed his connection.

This was...this was _bad_.

The first and most pressing matter being that Akatsuki knew where they were and were actively coming for them. Sasori, it seemed, had been _waiting_ for them to arrive. This wasn't as much of a surprise as Gaara would have liked it to be; Sakura was trying to be transparent about her motives so as not to take uninformed countries off guard with her arrival. But the way Kabuto had spoken to Sasori made it seem as though they'd _planned_ on their arrival here at Oto, which suggested one of two things.

The first, and least likely, was that Kabuto was working for Sasori in truth and was merely pretending to work for Orochimaru, using the Sannin's resources to aid Akatsuki. Gaara doubted Kabuto could have kept this secret for so long without Orochimaru getting suspicious, but it was a possibility he couldn't discount. Following this scenario suggested that Orochimaru and Akatsuki were something at odds, which had a bit of sense. Orochimaru was _ex-_Akatsuki, implying he broke up with them for a reason, and maybe Akatsuki was wary of getting Orochimaru's ire turned on them in the middle of 'extracting the Jinchuuriki'. He couldn't imagine that scenario ending well for Kabuto; the instant Orochimaru learned that Akatsuki were moving in his village behind his back, he'd know there was a traitor and root them out. Maybe Kabuto was prepared to die for Sasori, but Gaara knew most people had an instinct of self-preservation. Plus, Orochimaru wasn't stupid. The odds of him not knowing about Kabuto's connection were low, too low to linger on.

The second option was that Orochimaru _knew_ about Kabuto's connection and was using it to his advantage. This, Gaara could see making sense. He weasels information about the Sharingan from Sakura, signs her treaty, and then hands her over to Akatsuki. No need to worry about the treaty if the ambassadors were dead, and perhaps that helps him make amends with Akatsuki. Of course, Kabuto didn't exactly suggest that Sasori should delay, but with whatever that technique was, Gaara got the sense that Sasori wasn't _exactly_ here yet...simply close enough to send a weird transmission.

It was something that Sakura's visions should have _warned_ them about, and yet Sakura was still stuck dreaming about some stupid letter from some unknown shinobi about an unknown force. Gaara found himself resenting the odd religion at times. He wasn't quite sure what he thought of Jashin overall, but right _now_ he was simply annoyed.

And then there was the matter of Karin. She was spying on Kabuto as well, which meant that it was possible _she_ knew about this as well and kept it from them. But why cozy up with them if she knew Akatsuki was coming to see them dead?

**Not enough information, brat. And we can't afford to waste time screwing around.**

Shukaku was right. Here they were, watching Sasuke and Sai spar like it was a casual hobby, when their enemies were getting closer by the second. They needed time to prepare, but on the chance that Orochimaru had set this up as a trap for them, Gaara couldn't let the man know that he'd caught on.

He put on an air of boredom, shifting against the railing so that he rested his chin against his hand. Then, he spoke, letting his voice carry across the room.

"This is a waste of time. Stop playing around with him and get this over with."

He saw Sakura shoot him a confused glance, but ignored it. He'd have time to explain later. Sai, too, looked momentarily confused, but thankfully seemed to catch on.

"Ah, we can't let Gaara get too bored, can we? You know better than anyone what happens if he gets upset, don't you Sasuke?"

"Fine."

Sasuke's eyes flashed red, and the boy lunged forward with renewed speed and vigor. Admittedly, Gaara could see that even Sai couldn't keep up with the Uchiha's onslaught. That was perhaps expected; Sai had really only had about three months of aggressive kenjutsu training, while Sasuke had been with Orochimaru for over a year now. That, coupled with the Sharingan's enhancement to his reflexes, made Sasuke an opponent that would be far too formidable if it was just a kenjutsu match. It was about another minute before Sai was swept onto the ground with a well placed kick, halted from further action by Sasuke's blade at his throat.

"You're done." Sasuke announced. "Sakura next."

"Ah, I suppose you are the superior with a blade." Sai replied, showing off his fake smile. "Perhaps I shall ask you for some tips in the future."

Sasuke grunted in response before sheathing his blade and turning to face the stands above. (Not even offering a hand to help Sai up, Gaara noted, which bothered him. Hadn't Orochimaru even taught the boy manners?) Sai stood on his own, reaching into his pocket to pull out his notebook and…

Oh _fuck_.

**Looks like Uchiha might end up getting pissed after all**.

"Your style is reminiscent of a popular Konoha style." Sai commented casually, using his very unique paint brush to 'write' in his notebook. "But there are some moderations that remind me of an old Suna dueling technique. You've been teaching him quite a bit, haven't you, Lord Orochimaru?"

"I would spare nothing from my Sasuke." Orochimaru answered in turn, sporting a smirk. Gaara couldn't tell if it was simple pride in the compliment, or if he'd caught on to Sai's trick.

"How unfortunate, then, that you didn't teach him not to turn his back on an opponent that hasn't officially surrendered."

Sai brought the brush to his mouth, pushing the button that allowed it to quickly morph into a hidden blowgun. Sasuke moved to react, but not even he could draw a blade quick enough to stop a small dart from piercing his skin. He yanked the dart out, eyes spinning red as he prepared to fight again, but Sai simply waited with a smile.

"What I've just injected is a diluted mixture of fugu poison. It's a very potent neurotoxin at high doses, but the Hageshisai have made a mixture that is far less effective. Still, without an antidote, you'll be paralyzed for at least a day."

"_Bastard!_" Sasuke hissed, gripping at the spot where the dart had hit. Gaara watched as a black mark suddenly spread out from Sasuke's body...the curse mark Sakura had spoken of? It seemed to be reacting to the poison, even staving it off. Sakura had learned to treat that particular poison at the enclave, and those struck with it were usually down within seconds.

**The Uchiha boy's become a little monster since we saw him last, hasn't he?**

Orochimaru was shaking, Gaara realized, though it took a moment for him to figure out that the Sannin was _laughing. _"Looks like my Sasuke needs a bit more training than I thought." The man spoke between chuckles. "What a foolish mistake, predator turning its back on cornered prey. He should have known better."

"By Jashin, they're _both_ idiots." Sakura cursed aloud. Below, Sasuke's mark had fully spread across his body, but even the power of the curse wasn't enough to stave off Sai's poison. Sasuke fell to the ground in a rigid slump just as Sakura pushed herself over the railing to land beside him. She pulled out a small scroll, within which were many vials of antidote to the various poisons Sai had brought with him. "Even if I give him the antidote, he won't be fit for anymore fighting today."

"Whoops." Sai answered with a shrug. "I suppose he should have taken me more seriously."

"He is going to _kill_ you later."

"Next time I'll use a stronger poison."

"How about _no_ poisons, we're here on diplomatic mission!"

The two continued to bicker as Sakura began to inject antidote into the paralyzed Uchiha. Gaara couldn't help but sigh with relief. Despite Sakura's anger, and despite the fact that Sasuke would no doubt be raring for a rematch, things had been finished quickly. If they retired now, he could warn Sakura about the Akatsuki, maybe even tell Sasuke why he'd insisted the match be ended so quickly.

**Would the brat aid us against Akatsuki?**

_Surely...seeing as his brother is of their number. It would be for personal gain to capture one._

**I suppose that's true.**

"I'll send Karin over to tend to him." Orochimaru commented dryly, looking towards Gaara as he did. "Perhaps it is good you arrived here. It has shown me where my training is lacking. I'm surprised it wasn't you that desired to fight the boy."

Gaara simply shook his head. No...that time had passed. Gaara didn't want to fight Sasuke. If anything, he wanted nothing to do with him. Sasuke Uchiha...Gaara had simply lost interest.

And after everything he'd done to Sakura…

"How curious." Orochimaru answered. "So it is true that your sloppy seal was fixed. Shukaku's bloodlust no longer steeps the air. A pity. You were a most interesting weapon."

The Sannin turned to leave, but as he did, Gaara felt Shukaku's energy writhe within him, until Shukaku was speaking through him in a hefty growl.

"**I'd remember your own advice, Snake. Don't turn your back on us.**"

Orochimaru stopped his retreat for a single second, glancing over his shoulder. He still had a smug smile on his face, but for a moment, the briefest of moments, Gaara knew what he'd seen.

They'd made the man shiver.

* * *

"I _cannot_ believe you turned your back on an opponent, Sasuke, you absolute _idiot_. I cannot even begin to tell you how badly this fucked up your chakra coils, it's going to take at least a week before you're back to normal. Why the _fuck_ did you try and use your curse mark to stave it off?"

Gaara squinted as he took on the full force of Karin's lecture. Much like Naruto, this girl was loud and she could rant for seemingly hours. At the very least, the lecture wasn't directed at him.

"And _you_!" Karin turned to jab Sai in the chest. Sai'd been keeping a very smug look on his face since the battle; perhaps it had been a cheap shot, but Sasuke wouldn't be able to live it down, even if Sai never won a match against him again. "That was a cheap move-"

"Shinobi." Sai countered. "He asked for a fight and I gave one. If he can't dodge a little dart, he's not ready to face Sakura."

"And that's not the _point_, we _need_ him! You have no idea what's going to happen here in the next week!"

"Akatsuki."

Karin froze, Sakura froze, _everyone_ seemed to freeze as Gaara spoke up. Gaara simply met Karin's eyes.

"You know about it. Time to talk."

"Y-yeah, I know about it! I was going to talk about it once we were all together, but _this_ one had to go picking a fight!" She rapped Sasuke's forehead with her knuckles, but all Sasuke could do at the moment was grumble in response. His motion was still limited, even with the antidote. "Akatsuki's been planning on moving in here for a while now to try and nab you. They'd expected you three months ago but you threw them off when you stopped in Yu for so long. They've been taking mercenary missions in the area ever since, waiting for you to come out of hiding. I think they even reconned in Yu but wherever you were at, they certainly couldn't find you."

"You could have led with that when I first got here!" Sakura protested.

"Yeah, and then you would have _run off_. I've got a plan, I've _had_ a plan ready, and that plans involves all of us working together to get what we want. Sasuke gets someone to interrogate about his brother, you get help dealing with the S-ranked criminals that want you dead, and _I_ get to enact my first step towards taking over this country."

"You still! Could have led with that when I got here!"

"It is _not_ my fault the Uchiha moron over here has a single brain cell left in his head and jumps into fights the first chance he gets! And I can't risk Orochimaru hearing about any of this!"

"He could be listening now!"

"Silencing seals on the room, look at the walls."

"Ah, I was wondering about those." Sai stood up, pulling out his notebook, this time to _actually_ sketch, as he looked at the designs that snaked along the walls and across the door to the room. "I'd heard the Uzumaki were sealmasters but I've unfortunately only met one before you, and he barely even knew what a seal was. Would you be interested in discussing techniques with me?"

"_Sai, now is not the time_." Sakura replied through gritted teeth. "How many days do we have until Akatsuki gets here? Or is it hours?"

"No idea." Karin admitted. "Kabuto didn't mention."

"...what does _Kabuto_ have to do with this?"

"Oh yeah, that bastard's been playing double agent for months, maybe even years now. Sasori thinks Kabuto is playing spy for him on Orochimaru, Orochimaru thinks Kabuto is spying on Sasori for him. It's a _hilarious_ mess, I don't think anyone knows who Kabuto is working for, least of all Kabuto."

"Great. Just _great_." Sakura threw up her hands as she began to pace the room. "So Kabuto's an enemy no matter how we look at it, Orochimaru will probably let Akatsuki storm in and take whatever they want, and _we don't know how much time we have until we're fighting for our lives!_"

"That's why we have to follow my _plan_." Karin insisted. "Only problem is Sasuke here being out of commission. I was counting on having him."

"..._fuck _it."

Sakura sat herself down in front of Sasuke before shooting a glare at Karin. "What is about to happen stays _here_, got it?"

"...I got it."

"Good. Sasuke, don't move a muscle."

Sakura put one hand against Sasuke's forehead, the other reaching up to touch her amulet. Gaara recognized the stance. Her breathing began to even out, and Sakura held very, _very_ still. Within moments, her skin began to darken, strange patterns spiraling out across her body until her skin was a mismatch of black marks. She was calling upon natural energy, using Jashin's power to heal. Gaara saw her grit her teeth as she began to work her chakra into Sasuke's body. Jashin's power allowed her to heal injury...so long as she could suffer through the pain the injury caused. Sasuke wasn't in much pain now, granted, but the fugu poison was admittedly nasty, and if Karin had been correct about the damage to Sasuke's chakra coils, that meant the injuries wouldn't be easy to fix.

He saw Sasuke's eyes widen slightly at Sakura's drastic change, but thankfully he did not move. Instead, the whole room went quiet as Sakura worked. A minute later, Sakura released her technique with a sharp inhale of breath, causing the markings to quickly recede from her skin. As she did, Gaara saw Sasuke tentatively move his hands.

"...healing?" He asked, confused. "How? A kekkei-genkai?"

"No." Sakura answered, out of breath. "A somewhat generous god is the best answer I can give you. Can you manipulate your chakra?"

Another moment passed, but Sasuke nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Now, Karin...you mentioned a plan?"

Karin looked as baffled as Sasuke, but managed to put her thoughts aside as Sakura addressed her. "Right, the plan. This changes things a little bit. I'll need to talk skill sets with each of you, but I've got the bare bones ready to go and build upon. The two Akatsuki members that will be coming our way are Deidara and Sasori. Explosions and poisons. If my assessment is correct, Deidara will attempt to separate Gaara and Sakura from each other. Bombs don't work well against sand, which means he'll probably try to take Sakura down while Sasori neutralizes Gaara, probably similar to the way Sai neutralized Sasuke today. So Sasuke, I guess this was a bit of a trial run. Sasori's poisons are going to be way more lethal than Sai's. If you end up facing him-"

"I'll _be_ more prepared." Sasuke grumbled.

"Sakura, do you think you'd be able to play poison control if you faced Sasori?"

"Potentially, but it depends. If it's fast acting, my technique may not be quick enough." Sakura answered. "I can't bring people back from the dead. If someone's gone, they're gone."

"Still, you've got the best chance of being a secret weapon against Sasori. If his poisons won't work, that'll make him more manageable for whomever is fighting him. Whatever they try, Sakura, _you_ need to be on the team facing him."

"Got it." Sakura nodded. "What about Orochimaru? Is he going to just stand back and let us fight, or should we expect interference?"

"Kabuto was ordered to prevent interference." Gaara pointed out. Karin shot him a look, to which Gaara shrugged in turn. "You weren't the only one watching him today."

"Right. Sheesh. I guess I should be grateful you're competent. Anyway, Gaara's right, Kabuto's been ordered to prevent interference. Which means we theoretically won't have to worry about Orochimaru."

"But you mentioned this being your first step towards taking over the country? Doesn't that mean Orochimaru needs to be involved one way or another?"

"Right again." Karin smiled. "Now pay attention closely, all of you."

She drew the three of them closer, pulling out a large scroll and unraveling it on the ground in front of them. The scroll was blank until she bit her thumb and let blood drip onto it, upon which the scroll began to reveal a full set of writing and drawings within.

"Oh." Sakura said with a grin. "Oh, you _are_ thinking ahead."

"Yup." Karin answered. "Like I said, pay close attention. _This_ is where the plan gets interesting."


	73. Chapter 73

The most comprehensive notes had come from Onoki. Sakura had remembered Deidara being mentioned once or twice in her time there, mostly in regards to various things he'd blown up in or outside of the village. Deidara wasn't just a bomber, he was _the_ bomber. He viewed explosions as a form of art and had even stolen an Iwagakure kinjutsu that allowed him to mix his chakra with clay to make...well, even _more_ explosives, outside of the typical 'explosive release' kekkei genkai that he'd mastered during his time in the Iwa Explosion Corps.

Onoki had referred to Deidara as a 'talented shitstain of a brat', which Sakura had translated to mean that he'd been fond of Deidara before his rather violent departure. Hidan was fond enough of Deidara that he'd asked Sakura as kindly as he was capable to not 'kick his ass beyond salvation'. As far as Hidan knew, Deidara had been 'bullied' into joining Akatsuki by 'that crapass pretty boy Uchiha', which meant that there was a fair possibility that Deidara could be persuaded _out_ of helping Akatsuki if the right motivation presented itself.

There were two problems with that assumption, however. One: Deidara hated Uchiha. _Hated_ them. And Sasuke was with them, which meant that regardless of anything Sakura presented, it was likely that Sasuke's mere presence might just push Deidara into an explosive rage anyway. Two, and this was the cincher, _how the hell was she going to get a chance to try diplomacy if this man was going to literally come in bombs blazing?_

She wasn't stupid, and Karin wasn't stupid. Deidara and Sasori had likely done their research regarding her, Gaara, and Sai, and their tactics would likely be divide and conquer. Deidara would try to scatter them, Sasori would pick off Gaara when they weren't looking, which would leave them down a protective Jinchuuriki and at the mercy of very big booms.

And speaking of Sasori…

Puppet master, that much Temari had been able to account for in her own documentation. Master of poisons, hidden within a large armored puppet called Hiruko that was as deadly as it was defensive, head of the Akatsuki's foremost spy network, veteran of the Third Shinobi War...there was little that Sasori _didn't_ have under his belt, and though Sakura was strategically best suited to help whatever team was taking him down, that didn't mean she was _extremely_ nervous about doing so. She'd trained at the Enclave for several months, yes, she'd studied under the Tsuchikage, yes, but this was...this was _Akatsuki_. She was allowed to be worried. She was allowed to over-prepare. She was allowed to-

"Sakura, go to sleep."

Sakura admittedly started as Gaara's voice distracted her from her notes. She _had_ been mulling over these notes for several hours now, but still…

"You're one to talk, you know."

"I have Shukaku."

"He _lets _you sleep now, just because you grew up not sleeping doesn't mean you shouldn't be trying to catch up now!"

"He _is_ the best suited for night watch." Sai commented from across the room. "He doesn't experience sleep deprivation like we do."

"Shut it, Dart Boy, you're still in the doghouse for pissing off Uchiha."

"Not my fault he doesn't have Sharingan eyes on the back of his head."

"Why don't _you_ go to bed?" Sakura groaned. Still, another look from Gaara had Sakura packing up her notes for the night and turning in. He _was_ right. If she wasn't well rested, she wouldn't be at her best for taking on Akatsuki when they came, and no amount of preparation would solve that.

The problem was...well, a certain vision was making it _very_ difficult to sleep.

_Shinobi are cursed to seek violence…_

_...I will bring about the peace we have desired for so long…_

Sakura woke with a start three hours after her initial turn-in for the night, just as breathless and anxious as the first time she'd had the dream weeks ago. The anxiety soon faded into anger, anger that she _still_ didn't know why Jashin was so insistent on _this_ vision when there were a million more useful visions she could be tapping into instead, like maybe Deidara or Sasori or even fucking Orochimaru at this point.

The anger slowly bled into apathy. Either she had somehow broke Jashin's gift, (entirely possible and horrifying to consider), or there was something that she was just missing and she'd get it sooner or later. Maybe Jashin wasn't showing her visions of her looming Akatsuki problem because she was competent enough to handle it! Maybe she didn't need any edge on Orochimaru! Maybe mysterious worrying crow man was just _far_ more important than any of her immediate problems and sooner or later, she'd see the truth of it!

Sakura was already out of bed, shrugging on shoes and a jacket before she remembered that she _wasn't_ at the Enclave, and that there wasn't a small kitchenette with hot water and tea leaves waiting for her to help her calm down after a hectic night's sleep. She hesitated in the middle of the living room.

She could always go to the kitchen. She remembered the way from where Karin had shown her earlier. She'd been told she was a guest. Surely Orochimaru wouldn't begrudge her a late night cup of tea?

Strike that, he definitely would. He would definitely milk whatever he could out of her for a drop of tea and she was stupid to think otherwise.

But damn it all, she needed a hot drink.

"Gaara, can I borrow Emi?"

Gaara was up, of course. He did get sleep, contrary to his earlier claims, but it was usually light and complemented by one or more tanuki taking watch whenever his eyes shut. He had elected to ignore a bedroom in favor of the living room, from which he could keep an eye on herself and Sai simultaneously. Sakura saw green eyes peer at her in the dark as she spoke.

"I could go with you."

"And freak out Sai if he wakes up with both of us gone? I don't think so."

"Sakura, we are in Orochimaru's house."

"And he's an inquisitive bitch who won't kill me until he gets information out of me. If something happens, I'll send Emi your way and you can kick his ass yourself."

"Kabuto?"

"Let him try me, if Naruto could pummel him, I probably won't do half bad."

"Sasuke?"

"...okay, maybe he'd have the gall to challenge me to a midnight tussle when we're supposed to be resting for the Akatsuki fight, but it might be a little fun to be the one denying him for once, hm?"

Sakura could have sworn she saw Gaara's eyes roll in the dark.

"You know I don't like you going off into dangerous areas alone."

Alright, he had her there. It was technically true that every time she'd gone off on her own, something bad had happened. Itachi. That weird Uchiha that might possibly be Kakashi's old teammate. That time she'd taken a wrong turn in the Enclave and had walked in on two Hageshisai doing really inappropriate things with knives.

Sakura shuddered.

"You might have a point."

"I do have a point."

"I guess Akatsuki could attack at any moment. But _you_ get to go wake Sai and tell him he has to come with us for a five minute tea run."

Sakura could feel Gaara shuddering. Sai didn't wake up easy. Sai woke up wielding all sorts of pointy things and occasionally some very creative curse words that Sakura knew he definitely didn't learn from Root.

Ten minutes later, after Gaara had finished picking shuriken out of his sand armor, they arrived at the kitchen. It was dark and almost unnaturally quiet, but at this point Sakura just wanted her drink and no eerie kitchen atmosphere was going to dissuade her. It was admittedly a bit strange that Orochimaru's inner sanctum ran on candlelight and not electric lights, something her sleepy brain lingered on far too long as she took a match to the nearby holders. The boys waited outside the door as she rummaged through cabinets for a cup and something flavorful to put in water. There were several unlabeled bags of herbs that Sakura wouldn't dare touch with a ten foot pole, but in the back of one cabinet there were some tucked away bags of a brand that was, surprisingly, from Konoha of all places.

Sentiment, Sakura wondered? Maybe Sasuke had asked for some tastes of home.

Sakura even found herself lingering on thoughts of home as she brought water to a boil. She wasn't necessarily uncomfortable being stuck in a dark underground hole for a few days; the Enclave was plenty dark, and she found an odd sort of comfort in cave-like spaces now. But she did miss trees. Whenever her group finally settled down, whenever the ambassadors decided on a home, it needed to have _trees_.

The tea finished steeping, and as she picked up the kettle, a cup appeared in front of her, thrust her way by a pale hand.

"If you don't mind."

What Sakura would have liked to have done was smoothly pour the man a cup of tea and play it off like she'd heard him approaching the whole time. (And where _had_ Gaara and Sai been that they hadn't heard Orochi-fucking-maru come into the room?)

What Sakura did instead was let a very undignified squeak while deftly juggling a kettle in one hand and a quickly drawn kunai in the other.

Orochimaru in turn raised an eyebrow and continued to hold out a cup.

There was a brief moment of pause in which Sakura's sleeping brain tried to catch up with her now very awake body. She hit a strange half-awake medium that accepted the situation as it was and did what a polite guest would do and poured the man some tea.

In the corner of her eye she saw an open door in the kitchen, one that had looked very much like a blank wall before but now was very obviously a secret door of sort. There was a certain kind of humor to be found in knowing that Orochimaru had gotten a secret passage made to the kitchen instead of just...walking there like a normal human being.

She certainly couldn't help but wonder what Orochimaru was doing up at three in the morning. It was entirely possible that Orochimaru just didn't sleep. Tsunade had mentioned, now that she thought about it, that her old teammate had been prone to bursts of insomnia while he was still in the village, sometimes even coming to her for sleep-aids or even just a midnight chat. Tsunade had grown uncharacteristically nostalgic talking about those times. Another poignant reminder that, once upon a time, Orochimaru _hadn't_ been the maniac who'd killed the third Hokage or gotten kicked out of the village for child experimentation. Once upon a time, people had cared about him.

That he had fallen away from that for something as silly as immortality would never make sense to Sakura, _ever_. She couldn't picture an eternal life without her boys in it. She couldn't picture an eternal life taken from the lives of others either.

She sighed and poured herself her own cup of tea. Even with these surprising displays of domesticity, Orochimaru was still Orochimaru. Maybe even showing such displays to let her guard down.

Still, this was a rare opportunity to chat with him pseudo-alone. Maybe she was only halfway awake at this time of night, but maybe it was the same for _him_. Maybe she could get something through to him that she wouldn't be able to otherwise.

Or maybe he'd just ask her to tell him about the Sharingan again.

She caught sight of sand wisping around her as she turned to face the Otokage again. Gaara had clearly noticed who was in the room, but thankfully had the tact not to immediately try to break whatever tentative peace was there. It was a comfort, though, and what she needed to try yet again to talk with one of the most terrifying men she'd ever met.

"Have tea at three in the morning often?"

Sakura almost squeaked again as Orochimaru was the one to break the silence. He was leaning against the wall now, keeping an insufferable smirk on his face as he did so. The bastard knew exactly how uncomfortable he made her, and Sakura was not, was _not_ going to let him get to her.

"Could ask the same of you."

"Research never sleeps." Orochimaru answered in turn. "Even when the body stops, the mind continues into the far hours of the night, seeking answers to questions that refuse to remain dormant."

It was...weirdly relevant to her current situation. Awake in the wee hours yet again because a stupid dream wouldn't stop nagging her.

Hmm. Well Tsunade _had_ told her to try and intrigue the man. She'd hit a dead end with this dream. Sometimes...sometimes one had to look at unconventional sources for unconventional answers.

"I've been working on a history project." Sakura began, choosing her phrasing carefully as she sat down at the kitchen table. "An old letter of sorts. I've been trying to figure out who wrote it but so far I don't have very many clues. It's esoteric and infuriating."

"Oh?" Orochimaru's tone turned curious, and Sakura knew she had him. Hook, line, and sinker. "History is truly a fascinating mystery, isn't it? In the realm of the past lie gods and myths."

"And monsters." Sakura answered in turn. Even now, with hot tea in her hands and her senses more about her, she could still feel the fear creeping up on the back of her next as whatever avatar of hatred existed in that vision approached.

"There are those who think shinobi monsters."

"Speaking from experience, I take it?"

"Ah, unlike others, I take pride in the name."

There was something a bit surreal in how Orochimaru spoke to her. Even with her title as ambassador, all of the other Kages still spoke to her in a manner that insisted that she was still young, still inexperienced, still somewhat beneath them. Orochimaru...he lacked that sort of inflection.

It hit her, all at once, why it had been so easy for him to draw Sasuke in. Treat everyone like an equal, like you respected them, like you _believed_ in them…

Orochimaru did it in a sinister manner, but in a way, she could _learn_ from it. Having that sort of respect for everyone she met was something she'd need as an ambassador.

It still didn't stop her from jumping somewhat as Orochimaru quietly slunk into the chair next to her.

"I take it you're researching a monster? Not surprisingly, considering your company."

"Yeah, Sai can be a bit of a monster in the morning if you wake him up wrong." Sakura smoothly retorted. She _wasn't_ going to let Orochimaru drag Gaara through the mud on her watch. Instead, she simply pulled out a small scroll at her hip, one of the few she'd always slept with: as complete of a transcript as she'd managed to get of her dream sequence. She rolled it across the table to Orochimaru, watching out of the corner of her eye as he opened it and took a look.

"...I'll admit this is somewhat more interesting than you'd made it out to be. Very few have the knowledge to speak of Kaguya."

So Orochimaru thought the speaker was referring to Kaguya as well. Sakura could almost hear Sai's smug smirk from the other side of the door.

"You didn't think it strange that I knew about her before?"

"I wouldn't have expected another to be researching her. I could inquire as to your source of this transcription."

"An eye for an eye, Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru grinned. "Oh, I hardly think signing a binding international treatise is worth _that_ information."

"No." Sakura agreed. "But I'll still let you make other offers."

"Fair trade, of course. But I know so little about what a young lady like yourself might want."

"Hard to have time for wants when there's so much to do."

"Oh, come now. You can't tell me you don't have any..._personal_ ambitions."

"And I told you before, my ambition is the project."

"Such a clever little liar. Even to yourself." Orochimaru carefully rolled up her scroll before sending it back over the table to her. "The greatest lie of the shinobi world is that the duties of the world are more important than the dreams of the individual."

"So the world should suffer for one to thrive?"

"Not at all." Orochimaru countered. "Merely that a country that tampers down the needs of its citizens is doomed to tear itself apart."

"But a country that ignores its own duties will fall apart anyway."

"Balance then, don't you think?" Orochimaru raised up his cup, and in a rather stunning feat of dexterity (and perhaps chakra control), balanced the cup on a single finger. "I should think one that tends to involve themselves in the governing of the shinobi world would not neglect the individuals that make it up. That is how Jinchuuriki grow up outcasts. That is how the Uchiha are drawn into rebellion."

"How you were drawn into child murder?" Sakura could have kicked herself for the quip, but Orochimaru merely seemed amused.

"I gave them a chance to seek greatness. It isn't fault of mine that only one of them survived it."

Still a bastard. And Sakura didn't want to talk in circles forever. She wasn't going to change the man. If Tsunade couldn't, if Jiraiya couldn't, then it plain wasn't possible.

But she could still try to get _something_ out of this.

"Alright." She decided. "Information for information. That's fair, isn't it?"

"Naturally."

"You're seeking immortality. A perfect body. The power of Kaguya. So tell me, after you've gotten all of that, then what?"

Orochimaru was quiet for a good long while. Enough for Sakura to finish off the last of her tea and stand up to clean the kettle she'd used to make it. The silence lasted until Sakura was ready to head back to her room once again.

"You know, Haruno, I actually have no idea."

Sakura smiled. She didn't mean to, not really, but something about finding a question that stumped even the Snake himself just brought a weird warmth into her heart. Enough so that by the time she returned to bed, she'd mostly forgotten about the dream.

* * *

Warmth didn't last forever, of course.

It was supposed to go like this: Karin would play border watch, using her unnaturally effective sensing skills to determine when Akatsuki were about to cross into the city borders. Deidara's techniques were primarily earth based, which meant that Sasuke's lightning would be a perfect counter for any bomb dropped in the area, so long as he was fast enough. Sai, already practiced as a ranged fighter, would provide eyes in the sky on Deidara's location and actions. Karin would provide support, in both healing and crowd control, directing citizens away from Deidara's bombs and making sure that nobody got caught in the ensuing scuffle.

Sakura and Gaara would stick together alongside Juugo, a powerful close-ranged fighter who was, as it turned out, the origin of Orochimaru's popular curse mark. He could transform himself with _nature_ energy, of all things, but instead of becoming a statue like most, the transformations ended up being somewhat protective in nature. His skin hardened, his strength grew, and all of these things would be a perfect foil to someone like Sasori who dealt in long-ranged puppetry and poisons. If Sasori could penetrate Juugo's armor at all, the high concentration of nature energy would help cycle the poison out, and whatever he couldn't cure, Sakura could heal. She'd play long range support with her earth jutsu, while Gaara kept up defensive barriers for all of them. A solid team, one that Karin seemed to trust implicitly, which gave Sakura some hope as well. With Kabuto keeping Orochimaru out of the way and Karin herding civilians, it would just be them and the fight.

Of course, if Sakura knew anything by now, things _never_ went as planned.

The alarm came early in the morning, about an hour after Sakura usually got up to do her morning exercise. Karin came running to the door, knocking on it rapidly until Sakura could wrench it open.

"They're here. Get to the south training ring like we planned, I'll make sure Juugo meets up with you there before the bombs start falling. Sai, you're with me."

"Take Emi with you." Gaara insisted, practically plopping the tanuki into Sai's arms. "Anything goes wrong, you send her to us, we'll find a way to get to you."

"Focus on staying alive, perhaps?" Sai countered. "I'm with the Uchiha. He's too stubborn to let anyone hurt me but him."

"Ain't that a truth." Karin rolled her eyes before taking Sai by the arm and leading him away. "South ring, get going!"

It was simple enough. Sakura quickly threw on her armor and summoned Kasayari from its containment so that she could let it sling comfortably against her back. Gaara stretched as she prepared, falling into stances that Shukaku had gone over with him time and time again. They were ready, Sakura thought to herself. Ready as they would ever be to face a shinobi terror.

Then someone knocked on their door again.

Sakura opened the door to see Kabuto's pleasantly smiling face. "Sakura. Orochimaru wants to speak with you, if you don't mind. And only you. He seemed rather insistent that it be private."

Sakura glanced over to Gaara, and she was absolutely certain that the same word passed through his head as did hers.

_Fuck_.

Kabuto was supposed to be keeping Orochimaru out of the way, wasn't he? And surely, if he was a spy for Sasori, he'd be aware that Sasori would be here within the compound any minute? And that Sasori asked for him to keep Orochimaru away?

Something was up. Something had changed. They'd missed a meeting, some change of plans, and now Karin was too far away to get a message to without arousing some sort of suspicion in Kabuto. For now, all they could do was play ignorant to the situation and go along with...meeting Orochimaru while Akatsuki was _literally_ at their front door.

"Sure." Sakura said with her best possible imitation of Sai's fake smile. "Lead the way." She paused only to glance back at Gaara, knowing that he'd probably know exactly what she expected of him: follow at a distance, and don't be seen.

The truth of the matter occurred to her a couple minutes into their walk. Kabuto _wasn't_ leading her to Orochimaru, but rather leading her to a location where she'd be away from Gaara and unable to protect him. Sakura was willing to bet that whatever room Kabuto put her in would end up being empty and quickly locked the moment she was in it.

It would work out, with Gaara tailing them. He'd simply free her once Kabuto had run off, and they'd still rendezvous with Juugo, albeit a little later than intended. So long as they could avoid running into Sasori on the way, their plan could still work.

Of course, that plan backfired when Kabuto opened the door to a large room and Orochimaru was actually _in_ it.

But in Sakura's defense, _Kabuto_ seemed surprised about it too.

"L-Lord Orochimaru-"

"Kabuto." Orochimaru answered with trademark grin. This one, however, wasn't the smug, egotistical grin that Sakura was used to. This one was _murderous_. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

Had Orochimaru not _known_? Karin had seemed to think Orochimaru was aware of Kabuto's 'double agent' status, perhaps even believing that Kabuto was truly spying on Sasori for _him_. But Kabuto hadn't told Orochimaru about Sasori and Deidara's coming assault, per Sasori's orders, which meant that, in Orochimaru's eyes, Kabuto was really Sasori's man through and through.

Karin had spoken of her plan to become Otokage in the coming years. An important part of that plan was ridding Orochimaru of Kabuto, since Kabuto was instrumental in keeping Orochimaru's body healthy after the grueling soul transfer process. Without a trained medic, Orochimaru would be at a disadvantage. Nobody else in Oto had Kabuto's skill, and Kabuto had intended it that way, lest Orochimaru think to replace him.

It was in that brief moment that Sakura got an idea.

"Lord Orochimaru, I really don't know what you're-"

"Don't lie to him." Sakura spoke up, catching both their attention at once. "You know you can't keep that kind of secret from him forever. I will say, though, I'd really thought you'd be smart enough not to stab Orochimaru in the back."

"How _dare_ you even _think_-"

"She's right, Kabuto." Orochimaru answered in turn. "I gave you chance after chance. I took pity on you after I learned what Sasori had done to your mind to keep you loyal to him. I removed the seal he'd placed on you and still accepted you as my own. And yet you let him into my domain without a single word to me?"

"You said you didn't care what happened to the Jinchuuriki!"

"And I also said I wanted Haruno alive. Not shipped off to Pein for him to do Sage knows what to her."

Well..._that_ had implications Sakura didn't want to think about. Kabuto hadn't just been planning to lock her in here, he'd been planning to ship her off to Akatsuki. She wasn't surprised Pein wanted to get his hands on her; Hidan had warned her of that weeks ago. She was surprised that Sasori would have entrusted Kabuto with the task, of all people.

Sasori thought Kabuto his. Orochimaru thought Kabuto his. Kabuto played both sides. No matter who came out on top, Akatsuki or Orochimaru, Kabuto won. High risk, safe reward.

She didn't have time to think about why Orochimaru wanted her alive specifically. She had a chance right now, a chance to turn this scenario around _and_ help Karin in the long run.

"You know, you're the snake master, Lord Orochimaru, but I think this one's gotten a bit too big for his britches." Sakura folded her arms, making a show of looking disdainful. "He's stupid to cross you, and he's stupid to think he would have stood a chance of 'wrapping me up' for Pein anyway."

Kabuto sputtered, but stopped as he felt a presence crawling up behind them. Gaara's energy was impossible to ignore when he was riled, especially when in perfect sync with Shukaku.

"**Should have made sure we stayed behind, you four-eyed cretin**."

(Sakura winced at Shukaku's taunt. Didn't the Bijuu have anything better than a glasses insult?)

It was still enough to send Kabuto stumbling back, however, while Gaara took his place at Sakura's side. The man looked back and forth between them and Orochimaru.

"L-Listen, Orochimaru, it's really not what you think, she's playing you for a fool!"

"That's a weak excuse, Kabuto. You'll have to do better than that."

"You...you _need_ me!"

"He doesn't." Sakura countered. A lie, but one she could work with. "Lady Tsunade's implemented a shared medical program with all allied shinobi nations. She'll share her medical knowledge with anyone who signs on, and she's far more knowledgeable than you. Anything you did for Orochimaru can be taught to someone else, even better than you'd ever managed. She was the one Orochimaru went to in order to get a fix for his arms, wasn't she? Nothing _you_ knew could help him with that."

She saw Kabuto pale at that, and admittedly felt the tiniest little bit of vindication in knowing she'd probably just made Kabuto wet himself.

"What an amusing point our little Haruno makes." Orochimaru chuckled. "One I had been considering since I read her adorable little treaty. Why, if I sign on, my dear friend Tsunade won't have a choice but to share her knowledge with me. Perhaps even ways to circumvent a host's rejection. I'd planned on letting you do the honors, but it seems you've chosen your side today."

...wait, he'd been considering signing even _without_ the information on the Sharingan? That fucking _snake _had been trying to weasel shit out of her-

Focus. She had to focus. She was turning Orochimaru against Kabuto, she was making it so he _had_ to sign her treaty, and she was setting Karin up for an easier takedown in the immediate future...and Kabuto was attempting to run out the door.

Sakura didn't stop him. It wasn't her place, and the weasel deserved a bit of fear after playing the double agent game for so long without consequence. It was Orochimaru that worried her now. Kabuto wouldn't be keeping him out of the way, so what would he do with Sasori and Deidara about to try and hunt down a Jinchuuriki within his borders?

"Foolish." Orochimaru muttered.

"Like I said, stupid." Sakura agreed.

"No." Gaara replied quietly. "That's not what he means. Sasori's right outside."

...and he was about to figure out that Kabuto had failed in separating Gaara from his companions _and_ in keeping Orochimaru out of his business.

Hidan had mentioned one important thing about Sasori: he didn't tolerate failure.

They had moments, it seemed, before their fated fight with Sasori was to begin. There was no Juugo; even if Gaara had sent out a tanuki before coming in, it would take a while for the summon to bring Juugo back. On top of that, Orochimaru was there, and while he seemed to want Sakura alive for the moment, he'd been very blunt about not caring what happened to Gaara.

But in the grand scheme of things, and Sakura couldn't believe she was thinking it: she'd take her chances with the snake.

She backed away from the door, Gaara keeping close to her, until she was standing at Orochimaru's side. "You know," she spoke, "a little bird told me that apparently Akatsuki has some sort of leverage to keep you out of their affairs."

"Have I mentioned you have some extremely curious little birds?"

"You've as good as admitted to me that you'd be interested in signing the treaty for Tsunade's medical knowledge. But I know you want information on fighting the Sharingan. So let me turn the deal around."

It was a gamble. It was the biggest, stupidest gamble she'd made in a while, but as she'd learned early on, sometimes stupid gambles had the biggest payoffs.

"Deidara and Sasori are here to collect Gaara. Help me take Sasori down and I'll tell you everything I know. About the Sharingan, what I know about Kaguya..._everything_. You have my word."

Orochimaru grinned again, and this time it was the smug grin she'd come to expect from the snake.

"You have a deal, Miss Haruno. But I expect _everything_."


	74. Chapter 74

It wasn't that Deidara _wanted_ to be here. (He would have rather not have been bullied into joining Akatsuki at all.) But if he _was_ going to be stuck in Otogakure providing distraction for his grump of a teammate, at the very least he could turn the situation to his advantage. Getting a fight with Sasuke Uchiha? A perfect way to test whether or not he was any closer to standing a chance against his shitstain of a brother.

Of course, he wasn't sure if the Uchiha was going to come for him or go protect the Jinchuuriki, but Sasori's little spy had seemed convinced enough that Uchiha was under some other girl's thumb, and that _she'd_ prioritize protecting the village, so if he dropped enough bombs…

Deidara didn't like relying on spies, but the chance of fighting the Uchiha was better than just spritzing the ground with a few pretty booms and not having much more to do with himself.

He reached up to adjust his eyepiece, scanning the village's streets for any sign of dark and brooding. The village was...not quite as peaceful as he was expecting. Everyone seemed to be rapidly moving in one of three directions, towards steel warehouses that…

_Went underground, son of a bitch._

They were _evacuating_, before he'd even had a chance to show them his art. This was why he didn't like relying on spies. Someone must have heard big bad Akatsuki was on its way and started evacuation protocols. Either that, or they had a hell of a sensor in their ranks. Or maybe the Uchiha had…

Deidara shook his head. _Fuck_ the Uchiha. It was Sasori's fault that his spy had let something slip, and just because there weren't any civilians loitering about didn't mean he still couldn't have a good time. If anything, it was the perfect grounds to test some of his newest creations.

_You better keep the snake and that Jinchuuriki busy, Sasori._

Manipulating his chakra-infused clay came easily to him, a comforting feeling as he molded wings and sharp beaks onto his creations. He'd start off small, see whose attention he caught with a little line of C1…

The birds flew forth from his hands, directed towards one of the steel warehouses that was currently being used as an evac point. Unfortunately for whomever was in charge down there, he liked to play dirty. There was a moment of silence, anticipation building, before the birds detonated against the doors of the warehouse. The metal held, but earth and stone were kicked up from below, along with the bodies of those who'd had a front line view to his creations.

Deidara grinned. Having caught a taste of battle, he urged his clay mount to fly within the city boundaries. If he could nail all three evacuation points, the chaos would certainly make it difficult for his opponents to launch a counter strike. He readied another barrage of birds, forcing his mount to position itself so that he could see his next target. The birds flew true, speeding towards the doors and then-

They were suddenly beheaded, and instead of exploding from the impact, they fell to the ground, twitching from...sparks?

And _there_ that bastard was, wielding a sword infused with lightning chakra and managing to stare him down even from a distance. Deidara would have recognized Sasuke Uchiha on sight alone, never mind the fact that his Sharingan blazed his way even from a distance. It was eerie how similar to his brother he looked.

_The same eyes...the same __**arrogant**_ _eyes…_

Lightning chakra was more than capable of disabling his creations, which meant he needed to be smart. Sasori's spy had claimed the Uchiha was best at close range, and that gave Deidara an advantage. If he used a few of his creations to keep Uchiha occupied, while sneaking in some others at a distance that no shinobi could hope to reach quick enough, he could still cause some havoc. Maybe even get a _really_ big boom, if he kept Uchiha where he was. Easy enough. There wasn't any way that one shinobi could cover a whole village, and unless they had multiple skilled lightning release users, Deidara still held an advantage.

He prepared more birds to keep the Uchiha at bay, using his other hand to prepare something a bit larger. He'd let the Uchiha dance around protecting civilians while his art redecorated Oto into something a bit more his taste. His birds shot off into the distance, while he simultaneously let a larger one trail in the direction of the final evacuation point. Uchiha went for the smaller ones, of course, and the larger-

Something flew through the air, grappling with his creation and dragging it upwards, away from the city. His creation scrapped with the dark creature, until the latter put enough pressure upon it to make it explode, far above the city and too high to _hit_ anything.

That had been...had it been a bird? And where had it _come_ from?

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Deidara saw more of the black and white birds flying in his direction. He maneuvered his mount to dodge, watching as the final bird seemed to hit the butt of his mount with a too-wet splat.

_Ink? They're ink creations?_

Now _this_ was interesting. Deidara wasn't partial to ink outside of its use in making paper bombs, but he'd never seen this particular application before. The ink given solid form, able to grapple with his own creations...yet still lacking that final touch, of course, what use was the creation if it didn't have that final little spark? Why, if he was making these, he would have integrated explosion seals into the ink design and make it so that-

More ink birds appeared, and this time Deidara could see that they were carrying small paper bombs within their claws. Alright, not how he would have done it, but whomever this fighter was had the start of something! Deidara grinned as he called forth a handful of clay spiders, throwing them into the air to intercept his opponent's birds. The sky lit up, like fireworks, a strangely beautiful harmony of colored ink and flame.

_Alright, little artist. You've got my attention._

No doubt the fighter would keep sending birds his way in an attempt to distract him from laying waste to the city. Another ranged fighter, like himself, and Deidara obviously couldn't waste time scanning about for him. He had to find out where the birds were coming from fast, or else this would turn his advantage away. Plus, there was the Uchiha down below…

_Damn the Uchiha and damn the Akatsuki for wasting my time._

He could be testing the fruit of this artist's labor, engaging in explosive discussion across the landscape, witnessing the harmony of ink and clay, and...wait a minute, had that bastard Uchiha sprouted _wings_?

By the look of things, this was about to change from a long-ranged fight to a close-ranged brawl, and he _still_ hadn't seen where his artistic opponent was coming from. On top of that, wasn't he supposed to be taking care of the Haruno girl? He hadn't seen any glimpse of a pink-haired shinobi, and unless _she_ was the artist, that meant Sasori hadn't succeeded in separating her from the Ichibi. Unless she was lying low while the others fought for her...but Hidan hadn't given him the impression that Haruno was a coward.

Deidara let his mount soar straight across the village now, absentmindedly chucking bombs just to keep the Uchiha delayed. He could use his C2 to pepper the landscape with mines, that could keep Uchiha busy long enough to find the other artist. Those wings didn't let him go very high, by the look of things, and that sort of mutation _had_ to be fairly chakra intensive. Let him exhaust himself being a ballsy idiot.

There was a more important fighter to seek out now, and maybe Deidara wanted to be here after all.

* * *

"Sasuke, come in. He's heading for the eastern evac point, you need to intercept him before he takes another route out. Over."

"Hn."

"Use your damn words when you're speaking over comms! Over!"

"Hn. Over."

"By the look of things, he's a bit too occupied to provide much thought into answering your questions, Spitfire. He's only capable of having one thought at a time. Over."

"Sai, I swear on the Sage, if you rile him up in the middle of a goddamn fight with Akatsuki, I will personally pull your spine out through your teeth. Over."

Sai smirked, the violent banter more than a familiar comfort after having spent so long under the Hageshisai. Admittedly, he had the least amount of heat on him at the moment. Deidara hadn't realized yet that Sai was soaring above him rather than sending his attacks from the ground, and since Deidara's focus was bombing the city, that kept him the safest of the group. He could keep an eye on where Deidara was headed, provide visuals on the types of bombs he was preparing, and if Sasuke couldn't reach a bomb in time, Sai could provide backup. Karin was busy with the evacuation, but once that was done, she'd be able to give ground support as well. They'd focus on getting Deidara out of the sky and then taking him out of commission..._nonlethally_, which he was surprised Karin and Sasuke had agreed on, but after considering that Sasuke's sole focus in life was getting strong enough to beat his traitor brother, Sai could see why getting information on Itachi would be a top priority. Worked out for him either way.

He adjusted his headpiece to get a closer look at Deidara, noting with an amused chuckle that Deidara _also_ seemed to have a similar looking headpiece. Had they shopped at the same store in Grass? It hadn't escaped his notice that they both used art as a weapon, though Deidara had definitely focused on destructive power instead of utility. Sai doubted he could use his clay creations to deliver messages or spy on the enemy.

Plus, and maybe this was his ego talking...but his ink creations looked prettier.

He let his hand flow across his scroll, easily creating a horde of birds to counteract some of Deidara's. His mind wandered to Sakura, who was theoretically working on Sasori now with Gaara and Juugo. He'd questioned why Karin hadn't given _them_ a headset, and she'd informed him that hers were incapable of reaching into Orochimaru's lair on purpose; Orochimaru hadn't wanted anyone to be able to listen in on his conversations below, should the technology leak out.

If they took Deidara out quickly, however, they could meet up with Sakura and provide assistance…

But he'd been told to wait to fully engage until evacuation was complete. So for now, he waited and watched.

* * *

Sakura readied her mind, falling into a defensive stance at the same time Gaara assumed a familiar position to her left. Orochimaru, in contrast, did not move at all. There was something to be said about the confidence to not assume a fighting stance prior to a duel, and Sakura wondered briefly if Orochimaru really was planning on fighting alongside them, or if he planned on stepping back at the last minute.

_He wants the information on the Sharingan_, Sakura reminded herself. _He won't let you die before he gets it._

That knowledge alone was the only reassurance she had when Sasori of the Red Sand stepped into the room.

She'd seen the puppet through Hidan's eye, but that still wasn't enough to stop a shiver from running through her as it stalked forward, oozing killing intent despite the inhuman stillness of the face.

Hiruko, the puppet was called. Temari had wrestled information from Sasori's grandmother, of all people, and had sent over the original designs of the puppet for Sakura's perusal. It had likely changed since Lady Chiyo had seen it last, but at the very least Sakura knew what to expect: a lethal snake-like tail, traps within the arms and mouth, and Sasori himself buried within, using the puppet's carapace as a shield. They'd have to break the puppet to have a chance at taking down Sasori, and even then, he was a puppet master, and Hiruko definitely wouldn't be the only one in his arsenal.

And of course, just one hit from any of his weapons could be a hit with lethal poisons.

"Orochimaru." The puppet spoke, its voice deep and modulated. "I figured you wouldn't have an attachment to these children."

"Once again, Sasori, you've failed to comprehend my motivations." Orochimaru quipped back in turn, running his long tongue across his lips. "Why would I pass up a chance to make up for that disastrous affair five years ago? Our fight didn't quite finish the way either of us liked, did it?"

"You'd move against Akatsuki to settle a grudge?"

"What makes you think you'll live to tell them I did?"

...they sounded like two old men bickering about a game. Maybe it would have seemed threatening to anyone else, but Sakura had been listening to the Hageshisai threat-talk each other for months now. She'd gotten the impression that the two weren't fond of each other, and yet wasted time on banter...rivals, perhaps? It almost reminded her of how Naruto and Sasuke used to sound egging each other on.

"Can we save the bickering for later?" Sakura finally asked. "I'd like to settle this quickly, before Deidara causes too much of a mess upstairs."

Hiruko's face turned to meet her own. "Respectable." Sasori answered. "You are no doubt Sakura Haruno, and the Ichibi with you."

"His name is Gaara. The Ichibi is Shukaku."

"His name will not matter. And soon, neither will yours."

Hiruko's mouth opened, and out came a flurry of senbon.

Gaara's sand provided a quick barrier, curling a wall of sand in front of Sakura and Orochimaru both. Not strong enough to pierce his barrier, thankfully, but they couldn't keep behind a wall forever. Sakura let her fists fall to the ground and used her chakra to pull the earth around them to form her gauntlets.

"Unless you have a better idea, Orochimaru, I would appreciate some backup. If you keep the tail occupied, I can go for the body. Gaara will keep the traps off our back."

"Hiruko, broken apart by a little girl? How delightfully humiliating." Orochimaru answered. "He'll never be able to live it down, even in death."

It was as good a confirmation as she was going to get. They'd counted on Juugo being their front line assault, but without him...well, she certainly wasn't going to order Orochimaru to take front while she played supported. The bastard would never allow himself in such a position. That meant her switching roles, and that was dangerous.

_But I never intended to play support for the rest of my life, did I?_

Sakura pushed chakra to her legs and launched herself forward, through Gaara's sand which molded around her like a second layer of armor. As more needles flew towards her, the sand shifted and moved to deflect it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Orochimaru matching her in speed, dodging the needles so quickly that Gaara's sand seemed unnecessary.

"Dodge left." She heard Orochimaru speak, and she pushed herself over just as Hiruko launched what appeared to be its left arm towards them. A bomb, that was Sakura's first thought, and while it did burst, it unleashed another barrage of needles rather than flame or poison smoke. The arm hadn't been in Chiyo's blueprints for the puppet, but Orochimaru's warning had allowed Gaara to prepare a wall for each of them to deflect what they couldn't avoid.

Sakura paused only long enough to catch her breath. Even Sasori seemed to realize that his needles had reached their limit, and as she began her run again, it was the tail this time that unwound to challenge her. It sprung like a snake, sharp tail reaching for her chest, but was stopped by Orochimaru's tongue wrapping around one of the joints and yanking it out of her way. It left the perfect opening, and Sakura was more than ready to put on a final burst of speed.

She propelled herself into the air, letting the arc of her jump carry her so that her gauntlet slammed down upon Hiruko's back just as the jump ended. She felt the wood crack and shatter. The tail flopped uselessly onto the ground, and the puppet became lifeless as something jumped out from within it.

Sakura grinned. One puppet down, and now Sasori would be exposed and vulnerable.

Her grin faltered when Sasori turned to face them for the first time.

"Admirable teamwork. If I didn't know better, I would assume you had been planning to defeat me like this, Orochimaru."

His face was..._young_. Too young, far too young for the near forty-year-old man that had been described to her by Suna. Sasori looked as though he could pass for _her_ age. Something about this wasn't right. Sakura let her senses expand to touch against Sasori's chakra. There was still a network, but it seemed to run along the outside of the body, rather than within it, and it all centered at a single point at his chest, a single point that held _vastly_ more chakra than any one body part could hold naturally.

"What have you done to yourself?" Sakura found herself asking. "Your chakra-"

"Do not dwell upon it, Haruno. He has simply found his own path to immortality." Orochimaru answered for Sasori. "Transforming himself into one of the puppets he so admired, never aging, never facing hunger or thirst...incredibly tempting, if I had any desire to leave biology behind."

"This is the difference between us." Sasori replied in turn. "You cling to your outdated form, while I shall remain eternal."

"**You've bastardized yourself**." Sakura heard Shukaku speak through Gaara, and only in their early days of interaction had she ever heard such disgust in the Bijuu's voice. "**Throwing aside your humanity for such a stupid ideal. A true puppet master would be revolted by the very idea.**"

Sakura couldn't help but agree, but Orochimaru was right. There was no point in dwelling on what Sasori had done now, not when they were in the middle of battle. That single point of chakra, _that_ was what she had to focus upon. "We need to aim for the matrix above his heart. He must be controlling the body from there. If not, disabling such a high source of chakra should still be detrimental."

"Sensing abilities too? How _very_ interesting. I expect to hear about this too, when you tell me _everything_."

Typical of the man, already thinking about what he'd gain in the future rather than the fight right _now_. Sakura backed off, closer to Gaara. It might have been strategic to try and jump Sasori now, but it was also risky. If Sasori's true form was also a puppet, it was likely trapped equally as much as Hiruko had been, and _she_ knew nothing about it. Orochimaru possibly knew, which meant following his lead.

But Sasori, it seemed, didn't plan on using himself to start. He pulled out a large scroll, unraveling it in front of him.

"I will admit, the last time I used this against you, Orochimaru, you provided yourself with an adequate counter. However, I doubt you will have the same counter again, and I have only improved my strategy since."

With a puff of smoke, Sasori's 'strategy' revealed itself. It was an admittedly menacing looking puppet at first glance, with piercing eyes and a black shroud that seemed to move as if it had a mind of its own. Sakura thought through her notes, trying to remember any of the puppets Chiyo had mentioned...but this didn't seem like _any_ of them.

It wasn't until Gaara spoke that it began to come together.

"I've seen pictures of that man before. That's the _Third Kazekage_."

"Correct." Sasori answered. "His techniques were crafted based on his observances of the previous Sunagakure Jinchuuriki. Simple poison traps may not be able to penetrate your armor, but the Kazekage's technique should provide a more than suitable counter. And since your resurrection technique failed upon using it last, Orochimaru…"

"Yes, I doubt I'll be able to pull out his soul to counter you again." Orochimaru answered. "Thankfully, having a Jinchuuriki on my side should suffice. Even you should have considered that."

"Naturally. That is why I won't be fighting with him alone."

There was another puff of smoke, and Sakura heard a click come from Sasori's body. Around him, a dozen more red-robed puppets had appeared, each looking like their own unique fighter. An army. The bastard had brought an _army_.

She'd expected as much, but even Chiyo's prediction had been wrong. A human puppet master could theoretically, at most, control ten puppets: one per finger. But Sasori was now operating on a different level. He was controlling as many puppets as he liked with whatever device he was using in his chest. If they destroyed one puppet, he could easily just summon another and continue the dance. It was essentially thirteen against three, and one of the thirteen, by the sound of things, seemed tailor made to counter Gaara's defensive techniques.

They had to take down Sasori himself, and fast. All without knowing what _Sasori's_ puppet body could do.

"My brother would certainly be impressed." Gaara said, suddenly spitting onto his hand. "I might have even been worried. But I know how to summon friends, too."

Gaara's hands went through a series of seals before he thrust them down onto the ground. Sakura felt wind rush past her as summoning smoke filled their side of the room. When the smoke cleared, Sakura grinned.

Twelve large tanuki now stood by them, each armored and ready for battle.

_Now_ they were back to an even playing field.


	75. Chapter 75

There was a heartbeat of silence, and then puppet and tanuki went to war.

It reminded Sakura somewhat of the recent Konoha civil war, though rather than attempting to mad dash through the skirmish, she was simply waiting, watching as blades clashed and claw and wood scraped together. It was somewhat mesmerizing at first. Sasori was an enemy, but even she couldn't help but be enraptured by the skill it took to wordlessly command an army with nothing but raw chakra control, which is what puppetry assuredly was. She'd been told she was in the top percentile of chakra control in Konoha, and she had no doubt Sasori also fell into a similar category, but this…

So this was what it meant to be an S-ranked shinobi.

Danzo, for all his stolen power, had never reached this height, had never reached the poise and elegance that came from mastery of one's own talents. This was what Sakura _needed_ to become if she was truly to wrangle the shinobi nations together, and right now, it was what she needed to defeat. Even with all her training, she felt herself balk at the prospect. Gaara's sand was busy, defending not just her and Orochimaru, but each of the tanuki as well, countering the strange black sand that the 'Third Kazekage' puppet was manipulating against them. It was easy for Gaara to defend her here, where she wasn't moving, but the instant she charged into battle, things would become that much more difficult for him. Perhaps even impossible. If she couldn't trust herself to dodge on her own merit, she shouldn't be trusting herself to charge at all.

"Having second thoughts, Haruno?" Orochimaru's voice seemed to snake into her ears. "Perhaps you're feeling a bit outclassed?"

A switch seemed to flip then, and Sakura didn't know how Orochimaru knew _just_ what to say to snap her mind back into focus, but she'd never been one to back down from challenging words, not since she and Ino had become Academy rivals.

"You only wish." She answered in turn. Of course, she'd _prepared_ for a moment like this, a moment where she'd have to defend herself _and_ attack. She'd specifically asked to be prepared for this.

She unhooked Kasayari from its sling and let it fall comfortably into her right hand. She saw Orochimaru eyeing it with interest, which only caused her to smirk in turn.

"You didn't think I spent the past few months sitting on my ass, did you?"

"The weapon is certainly new. But against puppets?"

"It'll suffice."

Kasayari was a spear, first and foremost. It wasn't _all_ it was, but in terms of an offensive weapon, she was told it was well-suited for her body type, providing range where she hadn't had it before. The downside was, unlike most spears, it wasn't a light, dextrous weapon. The blade was short, and the body of the shaft closest to the blade was thicker than the rest of the weapon, making it unbalanced and top heavy. Many might have considered the spear useless, unwieldy at best. It had certainly taken some time to learn the nuances.

Spears were offensive weapons. Kasayari was no ordinary spear.

"You know the target?"

"Aim for the heart." Orochimaru licked his lips before bringing his hands together, an unfamiliar hand sign. "Just don't become a liability, Haruno. I've been waiting a long time for this kill."

"Don't let me stop you if you see a chance."

They moved, and Sakura let instincts take over as she ran into the fray. In an instant, it seemed that Sasori's attentions were turned on her and Orochimaru. The puppets abandoned their fights with the tanuki to charge her, only being stopped when the tanuki followed in pursuit. Orochimaru's hands seemed to fly through formation after formation, summoning fire, wind, lightning, all in rapid succession. She'd heard the claim that Orochimaru wanted to learn every jutsu in existence, and now the man was starting to prove that claim.

But he was...slow, much slower than he'd been back when they'd first seen him in the Forest of Death. It was possible that he was preserving energy for Sasori's fight, but equally possible he was just...slowing. He needed to transfer bodies soon or else his current body would reject his soul outright, that Tsunade had insisted upon. That was why he had been so desperate for Sasuke before. He was running out of time. Was the toll of his jutsu already beginning to show?

Sakura didn't have time to linger on it. A puppet had already approached her, swords swinging only to clash with the hard wood of her spear. She was no expert in sojutsu yet, but the Hageshisai had given her a crash course on surviving duels, and it was more than sufficient at keeping the enemy blades at bay long enough for a tanuki to rescue her. It did not, however, stop the puppet's mouth from opening wide and attempting to fire another barrage of poisoned needles in her direction.

But Sakura had sworn she wouldn't be a damsel in distress, wouldn't wait around for Gaara or Sai to protect her, and that was _exactly_ what Kasayari was for.

The front of the spear unfolded, revealing exactly why the weapon had been designed to be so top heavy. It revealed linking panels that spiraled into a circular, shield-like shape around the shaft, interlocking into its new position just in time to intercept the attack sent her way.

Kasayari, the aptly named _Umbrella_ Spear, had _two_ forms. Offensive and defensive. The needles bounced off the hard wood, keeping her safe and allowing her to continue to move forward. She clicked the trigger beneath her thumb and the spear refolded again, resuming its offensive form as she lunged forward and pushed the sharp blade through the puppet's face, removing the head in the process. Maybe Sasori could control the body without a head, but there would be no more needles coming from it at least.

"What artistry that weapon is." She heard Sasori comment from the other side of the room. "I look forward to adding it to my collection."

"Like _hell_ you will!" Sakura slammed the blade of her spear into the dirt, channeling her earthen chakra through the shaft. The spear had two forms programmed in, but there was a _third_ one that she'd learned after a spark of an idea and a few pointers from Shukaku. Earth molded around the blade, sticking with the input of her chakra, until the spear had transformed into an earthen hammer. It was already top heavy, and since finesse wasn't going to break these puppets apart, Sakura decided she'd try a bit of brute force instead. As the next puppet headed her way, she pushed chakra into her arms for some 'oomph' and slammed the face of the hammer into it as hard as her body could allow. The wood shattered under the blow with a satisfying crunch.

Definitely not what the spear was made for, but sometimes Sakura just _really_ liked breaking things.

The hammer _was_ a bit heavy, though, so she let the earth fall from it as she reassessed the battlefield. She would have thought the puppet army thinned by now, but for every puppet they destroyed, Sasori would simply summon another. She was aware that Sasori was known for being a one man army, but this...this was becoming brutal. Puppets didn't tire, but _she_ would, and she knew the tanuki would, and maybe even Gaara's strength would dwindle if he faced up against a Kage level threat long enough.

"You wouldn't happen to have a bow locked up in that tricky little weapon of yours, would you?" Orochimaru asked as he skidded to a halt next to her. "Or perhaps a flamethrower?"

"Unfortunately, our best long-range support is outside keeping _your_ village safe." Sakura retorted. "I do know the water bullet technique, as well as some improvised earth techniques..."

"That is all? Such pitiful teaching. Onoki was always a brawler, but to neglect such basic training…"

"Well you could stand around bitching about it, or you could deal with this yourself! Why haven't you killed that bastard yet?"

"I enjoy toying with my prey before going in for the kill."

"That's _such_ bullshit right now and you know it." Sakura looked over at the man, and then she _saw_ it.

_What the hell was wrong with the man's hands?_

Maybe she just hadn't seen it before, or maybe he'd been hiding it with genjutsu that was pointless to keep up now, but where there had been pale skin before, there was now purpled skin that looked more like rotted corpse than true flesh. That Orochimaru could move his hands despite this clearly severe injury was even more of a miraculous feat. That was when Sakura remembered what Tsunade had told her, about the nature of the injury left upon him by the Third Hokage, that which not even body-switching could truly heal.

"_He severed the soul of his arms, Sakura. And healing a soul? That's an S-ranked medical technique that not even he has yet to master."_

Sakura couldn't even _begin_ to consider what sort of vicious technique directly damaged one's soul, not to mention what sort of jutsu could _heal_ one. Did Karin know of this weakness yet? It was surely one that Kabuto had been trying to treat, but with no Kabuto now…

Orochimaru was truly at his weakest. At the verge of being rejected by his host body, his arms wounded by the Third Hokage...now really _was_ the proper time to try and take the old snake down.

And that of course meant that Sasori had the best chance he'd ever get at killing Orochimaru here and now and turning the fight in his favor.

Sakura unfurled Kasayari into its defensive form once again, intercepting a puppet that had launched several kunai in their direction. "Your arms." She said aloud. "You're not able to use jutsu as effectively with your injury. You're only able to move them at all because you're living on top of a borrowed soul."

"...astute observation, though I suppose Tsunade informed you of this."

"You bastard, you _knew_ you couldn't take Sasori on your own with that injury. You're counting on me to incapacitate him for you!"

"Just as you were counting on me to do the same. Don't play hypocrite, Haruno, it doesn't suit you."

"...fine. Keep the puppets off my back, if you can manage _that_."

She was supposed to be respectful to Kage, but right now she was soured on the fact that she might not be as safe in this fight as she thought. She was _supposed_ to have Juugo to tank Sasori's hits. She wasn't _supposed_ to be the one taking Sasori head on. She was supposed to be providing backup to a _better_ close ranged fighter.

"Fuck it. I need you to launch me."

Orochimaru glanced at her, clearly baffled. "Launch you?"

"Use wind jutsu. Something to send me across the battlefield as quickly as possible. We need somebody to start occupying Sasori, and I'm not going to get close if he keeps summoning more puppets to distract us. So play support and get me to Sasori, and I'll...figure out how to finish him from there. At the very least keep him from summoning anything else."

"Are you sure I'm speaking to Haruno and not the Uzumaki brat? This is incredibly foolhardy."

"Can it. I'm doing the best with what I have, and I _do_ have a shield I can hold in front of me until I get there."

Orochimaru looked as though he meant to argue more, but surprisingly kept his mouth shut. He began going through another series of hand signs, and Sakura braced herself for whatever he had planned.

"I'll make an opening for you, Haruno, but wind jutsu was never really my best element."

Sakura blinked, trying to figure out just what exactly Orochimaru had planned, before his hand slammed to the ground and all Sakura could see were _scales_.

An enormous snake seemed to spring from the ground, launching itself at Sasori. Puppets attempted to stop it, but Sakura merely lowered Kasayari to shield the snake's face, as well as herself. The snake only stopped when it reached the other wall, slamming into it with enough force to cause chunks of the ceiling to start raining down on them.

Bold, but it _had_ gotten her there quickly. Sakura felt a pang of empathy for the snake, but only briefly as Sasori was _right there_, and she had only a moment to react before long blades were lashing out at her from Sasori's...back?

Right. Puppet body. She had to assume that it was completely decked out in traps and weapons and poisons. She only just had enough time to block the blade with her metal arm bracers, and she was greeted with her first up-close look at the Akatsuki member.

She could see the wooden grains in his skin now that she was closer, but even so, she could see how it could be mistaken for flesh from a distance. Her thoughts lingered briefly on what it meant for Sasori to have made this body for himself, crafting it in his own image, or maybe the image he'd wanted to remain.

Sakura could never become a puppet. But creating an ideal version of yourself...perhaps that she could understand.

"So it is between you and I now." Sasori spoke, his voice so even that Sakura wondered if he was capable of expressing emotion at all. "I will admit that I am not displeased with these events. With all the strength you have shown, you really will make a fine addition to my army."

Sakura lashed out with her leg, and winced as it clashed against Sasori's own. It didn't sweep him as intended, which meant even his wooden legs had to have some reinforcement.

"But first, before you die...you will tell me what has become of Kisame and Itachi Uchiha."

Sakura paused, looking up into Sasori's eyes in shock. "Wait...what do you _mean_, what happened to Kisame and Itachi?"

And then, for the first time, Sakura saw emotion on Sasori's wooden face. His eyes expanded, clearly also taken off guard. Sasori had been so certain that she'd known about Itachi and Kisame, but why? Weren't they part of Akatsuki too?

If Sasori didn't know where they were...then what had _happened_ to them?

* * *

The downside to fighting alongside shinobi that he'd only just met was that he had no idea how to work his jutsu around them.

Not for lack of effort, of course. Sai was nothing if not professional, and regardless of how he felt about Sasuke Uchiha, they were allies, and he'd be the bigger person and ensure he worked well with them. But not even Sakura was so strange as to sprout wings and literally take off the ground in pursuit of a flying enemy, and Sai just wasn't sure how best to arc his birds so that they didn't hit Sasuke's unruly wings in the process.

But maybe it was for the best. He was simple backup, after all, and if Uchiha could handle things on his own, there wasn't much point getting in the way. Karin was just about done with the evacuation, and from there the two of them could handle the fight.

Still..._he_ wanted to be the one fighting Deidara, especially now that he knew Deidara was a fighter with similar strengths and styles to his own. He'd been itching for a real fight for _days_ since leaving the Hageshisai behind, a chance to prove himself, a chance to show the skills he'd learned and the techniques he'd mastered…

Through his scope, he saw Deidara suddenly dip and swerve out of Sasuke's way. He'd stopped summoning his smaller birds, but he could still see the man's hands dipping into the pouches of clay at his hip. Was he working on something bigger?

..._much_ bigger. The bomb that Deidara pulled forward was triple the size of the last one he'd pulled out, a strange little statue with folded arms.

"Oy, Uchiha!" He heard the man call out. "Can you occupy yourself with this for a little bit? I've got someone else I need to chat with first."

Over the comms, he heard Sasuke grunt, (typical, really), but only silence afterwards as Deidara's stone figure suddenly began to expand. It grew bigger and bigger as Deidara dropped it, big enough to become ominous. Big enough that Sai knew, instinctively, that he did _not_ want to let that thing explode.

"Try a taste of my C3, you Uchiha shit!"

Sai began to draw, furiously working on something _big_, but could he paint something big enough to catch it in time? He'd never done _big_ before, never done anything large enough to take on a building-sized bomb. Maybe the civilians were out of the picture, but a bomb of that size could take out half the city, let alone cause the underground tunnels below to collapse from the pressure. He saw Sasuke fly beneath the bomb, lightning chakra bursting from his hands, but would it be enough to disable something so large?

Before he could wonder further, he saw something golden shoot from the ground. Long chains sprouted from somewhere, some_one_, wrapping around the falling bomb and halting its fall. Sai focused his scope, and he saw Karin on the ground below, chains coming from _her_.

What the _fuck_ kind of jutsu had she been working on? Was this another of Orochimaru's experimentations? No...Sai vaguely recalled reading something on the Uzumaki Adamantine Chains, something that Naruto hadn't developed, but maybe Karin…

Either way, the bomb had been slowed, though Sai knew there was no way Karin could hold the weight of it forever. Sasuke needed to find a way to neutralize it and _fast_, and meanwhile…

"Found ya!"

Sai's head whipped forward as Deidara's bird came to a halt in front of him. He kept his ink at the ready, but Deidara...wasn't attacking?

"Getting the high ground, huh? Pretty smart, took me awhile to put it together. Now that Uchiha's occupied…"

Deidara pushed his hands forward, showing a dozen small birds at the ready.

"You gonna show me what you can do?"

"...we're supposed to be fighting, aren't we?"

"Well, _yeah_, but that doesn't mean we can't show off a little first, right? Everyone always shits on my art, and here _you_ are with your own little version! I want to see you _really_ work. Show me your art, don't hold anything back!"

Sai hesitated, looking down at the birds in Deidara's hand before glancing at his own scroll. His attempt at something large was mostly finished, but…

But Deidara was giving him what he wanted. Deidara was giving him a _fight_. One on one, personal, no irritating Sasuke to get in the way...

Alright, _maybe_ this was what he'd really wanted this whole time. And it would take Karin and Sasuke a while to disable that bomb...and Sakura would _tell_ him to keep Deidara occupied while they did so…

Sai let his eyes narrow, and he began to sketch at a rapid pace. He saw Deidara grin as he began.

"That's more like it! Let's light the fucking sky up, hm?"

Sai forced his mount to dive, sending off a wave of his inked birds as he did. Deidara responded with his own dive and his own clay birds, firing one off for every one he drew, until the air around them began to grow hot from the clash of explosions and scorching ink.

It was a furious exchange of blows, but there was something of a dance to it, something Sai had only come to understand when seeing two dueling masters fight who had been sparring with each other for years. It wasn't that he'd known Deidara forever, but _how_ he fought was so similar to his own style that he could almost predict every bird Deidara sent, every direction the attacks would come from, because it was so similar to what _he_ would have done. Their mounts circled each other in the tailspin, only pulling out of the dive at the last possible moment to send them soaring across the rooftops of the city. There was...going to be collateral damage fighting this low, but at this point Sai was more focused on staying alive than worrying about anything around him. One wrong move and Deidara's birds would be on him, one moment of hesitation and he'd be dead in the air.

And it was _thrilling_, exhilarating in a way that none of his fights had been before. Kenjutsu sparring had been new, but it had never really been his forte in the way his ink had been. Nobody had matched his birds quite like this, and maybe nobody else was capable.

Art, Deidara called it. Sakura had called it art as well, though Sai had really only thought of it as utility before. Root had shunned the use of his ink for something like _art_, so much so that he'd painted his brother's story in secret, painted for pleasure only when he was far beyond Root's influence.

Now, even under fire, even with death so close at hand, now Sai was _really_ experiencing the art form.

It ended far too soon, with the echoing thud of the now-disabled C3 bomb as it slammed into the ground, but didn't explode. Sasuke's lightning chakra had done its work, and now Sai could see the Uchiha rushing to catch up with them. Deidara pushed higher in the air, attempting to leave Uchiha behind, but there was no saving it: the dance had ended almost as quickly as it had begun, and now this time Karin was pushing in as backup.

"Fuck." He heard Deidara curse. "I suppose you can't ask them to back off for a bit?"

"We _are_ supposed to be fighting."

"Oh come _on_, you can't tell me you weren't enjoying it. I know that look in your eyes. The Uchiha don't understand, they just don't _get_ it. All he's going to do is ruin the fun."

Sai looked back at Sasuke, seeing his outspread wings and crackling sword. Yes, Sasuke certainly wasn't the artistic type. More brute force, unrelenting power and speed. Sasuke was likely planning on breaking a few of Deidara's bones for daring to drop a bomb of that size on him, and then maybe a few more to get whatever information he could on Itachi.

But it didn't _have_ to be like that, did it?

Sai thought back to when Sakura had spoken to him for the first time. They'd been enemies, then, or so he'd thought. She, the deserter. He, the investigator, and potential executioner.

She'd held out her food to him and told him he was welcome to walk at their side.

Sakura, who'd tamed the savage Ichibi Jinchuuriki. Sakura, who'd wrestled the shinobi nations into peace under her watch.

Sakura who'd _freed_ him.

_Maybe...maybe I can be like __**her**_…

"It doesn't have to be like this." He called out to Deidara. "We could have all the time in the world to share our art...if we weren't enemies."

Even through the rush of flight, he saw hesitation in Deidara's eyes, and perhaps a sense of longing. Sakura had insisted, through Hidan's testimony, that Deidara didn't want to be part of Akatsuki.

And yet…

Deidara's gaze turned into resignation. "Sorry, but the world just...doesn't work like that. I've got my obligations, you know?"

His hands filled with clay spiders, and Sai could sense that the real battle was about to begin again.

"What you all fail to understand is that I'm not the scariest thing Akatsuki has to offer."

It clicked in Sai's head all at once. Understanding and determination in one smooth motion.

_He's trapped under his master, just like __**I**_ _was._

And Sai decided then and there that he was going to set him free.


	76. Chapter 76

((Author's Note: I've been getting quite a few new readers here on FF so I wanted to at the very least speak out and thank all the lovely people that have been leaving comments for me. I make sure to read every one. I try to take the critiques to heart and use it to better future chapters, and of course I am always overjoyed at the praise I've received writing this fic. Your comments keep me going, everyone. SBATC started as a project for me, but it's also a project for you, and I hope I can continue to please you with my extreme bastardization of canon.))

* * *

The steam from the natural hot spring laid thick over the air, creating a foggy layer over the mountainside. Konan was used to navigating damp weather, but there was still something about the fog that made her slow her movements and squint her eyes, just to make sure there was nothing she missed. It wasn't where she would have chosen to have a meeting, but admittedly this area was too remote for most to stumble upon accidentally, and it was the closest point where the three of them could come together without suspicion.

At this point, she was _supposed_ to be in Kirigakure. It was a long shot, but since that had been Kisame's home country, Nagato had reasoned that he and Itachi might have run off there. Konan doubted it...but she had information that Nagato didn't. Information she was now unwilling to share.

So long as Itachi and Kisame stayed away, that only furthered her own plans.

Nagato still trusted her enough to go and search on his behalf. Zetsu was covering Suna and Iwa, she was to cover Kiri. Hidan and Kakuzu were to be going to Kumo to hunt Jinchuuriki, and if they saw the rogue members on the way, all the better. Deidara and Sasori, otherwise occupied. Nagato himself had to remain in Ame, and Madara? Who knew. He was the only wild card that worried Konan, so she was now coasting on an ironic prayer to whatever god would listen that Madara kept to himself and paid her little mind.

She was Nagato's right hand. She had no reason to betray him.

She was the first to reach the spring, and she allowed herself a brief moment of respite while waiting for the others to arrive. There were no hot springs in Ame; with the constant rain, it would have made open-aired springs a bit of a strange experience. Konan tentatively removed her sandals, not willing to completely lower her guard, but willing to at least warm her feet after a long journey.

It was a while longer before another arrived, the tapping of his shoes apparent from some distance away. It was a small bit of relief to know he had arrived. She'd half expected one of Nagato's 'paths' to show up instead, ready to drag her home and demand what she was doing halfway up in Yu.

Her new companion let out a hefty sigh as he settled down next to the water. He removed his own sandals, joining her in dipping his own feet.

He looked exhausted. His had probably been the longest journey...and he probably had the most on his plate out of all of them.

"So...are you going to tell me why you dragged me out into a hot spring in the middle of nowhere, Konan?"

"My apologies for the inconvenience, Master Jiraiya. Unfortunately this was the optimal location for the three of us to meet, without raising suspicion in those around us."

"The three of us?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. The admission seemed only to make him seem more exhausted, and the man was already beginning to get on in years. Most shinobi didn't make it past their twenties. Konan could only imagine the weight Jiraiya held on his shoulders, making it as long as he had. "When I asked if anyone in Akatsuki would be willing to join the coup, you weren't sure you could convince anyone."

"That wasn't a lie. This one...he came to me. He knew about our first meeting, every word of it. He claims to be on our side."

"That doesn't exactly inspire confidence. If he was able to listen in, then Nagato-"

"This one's always been odd, just as much so as Nagato. Him finding out does not necessarily surprise me. It is his interest in the operation that confuses me."

"Seems like you don't trust him."

"I'm still not sure that I even trust you."

"Aw, come on, Konan. Not after all this time? I'm the one who trained you up, you know, even though you weren't even from my own village. I feel like I've earned a little trust, don't you?"

Konan didn't respond. The situation was difficult. Very, very difficult. She _wanted_ to trust Jiraiya. She wanted to trust _anyone_.

She missed Yahiko so badly that it hurt.

She saw a pouting look on Jiraiya's face, but still kept silent. She instead closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the warmth of the water. It was enough, wasn't it? That she could close her eyes around him. That was more trust than she gave most.

It had been something of a shock when she'd first met up with Jiraiya, realizing that _he_ was the one who had snuck her a note. Konan had vaguely known that he was Konoha's spymaster, but it hadn't quite crossed her mind how capable he might be of infiltrating her own village. But there had also been a part of her that had felt relief. Jiraiya, perhaps more than anyone else alive, _knew_ her and Nagato. If anyone was going to help her stop Nagato from losing himself completely, it would _have_ to be their old teacher.

It thankfully wasn't much longer before the third appeared. He was even louder than most, making Konan wonder if he really was taking this 'secret coup' thing seriously. He was sprinting up the hill, huffing heavily as he lugged his impractical weapon up with him.

"I'm late, I know, I'm fucking sorry. Ditching Kakuzu was harder than I thought. I practically had to drop a bounty in his fucking lap before the bastard let me have a damn minute to myself."

Hidan let his scythe rest against a nearby rock before stripping off his cloak. From there, he went straight to the spring, not even hesitating to step in, still half-clothed, and submerged himself in the water.

"_Fuck_, I missed hot springs. I cannot tell you how happy I was you let us meet here."

Konan let her eyes glance over to Jiraiya, finding a small bit of amusement in her old mentor's disbelief.

"..._he's_ the guy who found out?"

"Hey, it's not on me. Jashin is the one that led me to your little party. But I gotta admit, never thought in a million years that you'd be the one to turn on that pretender of a god, _angel_."

Konan frowned. "I didn't ask for the title."

"Bah, I don't have time to lecture you on heathenry. I'll wait until the pretender's gone and we don't have a Bijuu apocalypse to worry about. This is that Jiraiya guy, right? Some sort of big shot Konoha dude to help us out?"

"S-some sort of big shot?" Jiraiya sputtered. "I am the Mighty Toad Sage, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha!"

"...wait, aren't you the guy that writes those smutty romance books?"

"I am also a highly renowned author, yes."

Hidan just laughed at that, and maybe it was a little odd, but Hidan's at-ease posture in face of all that was going on was enough to let Konan ease up as well, if only a little. She hadn't really been able to relax in years, of course, but this was...close. Far closer than she'd been able to get back in Ame.

Maybe, when all this was done, if she lived through it...maybe she'd come back to Yu, just for a little while.

"So let me get it straight, you're like, Konan's old teacher or something, right? Then how the fuck did she end up in Ame?"

"Why don't you start by telling us how you know about our collaboration to begin with?" Jiraiya countered. "We should all be honest with each other here, shouldn't we? Considering we're planning on taking on the Rinnegan."

"I _told_ you, Jashin is the one who led me here. I had a vision of your first meeting, which was a sign clear as day that he wanted me to join in."

"...a _vision_?"

"Look, hell if I know how a _real_ god works, it just does." Hidan rolled his eyes and groaned. "As much as I'd love to try a conversion today, time's of the essence. Kakuzu won't suffer me off on my own for long. I did a tally of everyone, by the way, so consider that job done for you." Hidan pointed a finger at Konan. "Figured out everyone we've got a shot at bringing to our side of things. Plus, if we collaborate with Pinkie, we can get all the big-wigs in a row, once she's figured out Kumo and Kiri, right? She might even have a fucking chance with Creep-Ass Orochimaru, believe it or not, things are really fucking wild over there right now."

Konan had to stifle a laugh as Jiraiya frantically looked back and forth between the two of them. If she was honest, she was probably just as confused as he was, though she'd been around Hidan enough to parse together some of the nicknames.

"Sakura Haruno." She clarified. "She's in Otogakure right now, attempting negotiations with your old teammate."

"Succeeding negotiations." Hidan corrected. "She managed to get his interest by dangling information about the Sharingan in front of him. The hilarious bit is that she doesn't even really have any information, just a fluke she managed to figure out fighting that eyeball fucker back in Konoha."

"...well, damn it all, we _were_ the ones who told her to catch his interest. Sharingan is one way." Jiraiya shook his head, but there was a proud smile on his face. "If she manages to get his signature on that treaty, I owe Tsunade a year's worth of drinks."

"Hidan, you mentioned you'd done some reconnaissance?"

"More like some brain work, that's all." Hidan gestured as he talked. "Look, I already got Sakura working on one of them. You know as well as I do that Deidara doesn't give two shits about the organization. I don't think it'll take too much to convince him to try turning a bomb or two on Pein. Sasori...I mean, _maybe_ Sakura will get lucky, but I'm not putting my money on that. Sakura's trying to smooze up to Orochimaru right now and Sasori's got one hell of a grudge against snakes."

"Even just one more in our favor is good. I'd accept Deidara." Konan answered with a nod. "Any others?"

"You might be able to spin Kakuzu if you put a big fat wad of cash in front of him. Honestly don't know if the bastard cares about anything else. Problem there is that he has a bit of a grudge with Taki for throwing him under the bus after he failed to assassinate the First Hokage, so maybe keep them out of his way if you go for him."

"I can bring it up with Tsunade. We might be able to petition the various Kage to start an Akatsuki Demolition fund." Jiraiya mused. "They've already been prepping their villages for attacks, but I'm not sure if that's going to be any help against the Rinnegan."

"Nagato couldn't attack multiple villages in quick succession. If he goes for one, that will take almost everything he has." Konan added. "It might mean sacrificing one village, but doing so would ensure the others would be able to take him, unless something changes radically in the immediate future regarding his strength."

"Always that Madara guy to worry about…"

"I'd be more worried if I was convinced it was actually Madara." Jiraiya countered. "Sakura had a theory on the guy a while back. He's definitely an Uchiha, but unless there's something we don't know, there's no way he's Madara. Of course, the one person we _could _ask has gone dark…"

"Yeah, I dunno what to tell you about Itachi and Kisame. They're traveling for sure, but Jashin won't show me where the fuck they are." Hidan raised a hand to his temples, massaging them gently. "Hurts to even try. Guess Jashin doesn't think they're important enough to show me much about. I don't even got a clue why they suddenly decided to fuck off."

"I do." Jiraiya admitted. "There's no other answer that makes sense. He heard about what happened at Konoha and learned the truth about why he was forced to kill his clan. He was my original link into Akatsuki, but he's gone dark even from me."

"...I cannot say that I blame him. Hearing from that man what he did…" Konan closed her eyes again. Her rage still hadn't died down, even with the man dead. "It was bad enough that he ruined a peaceful future for Amegakure. I cannot even fathom why he would destroy one of the strongest clans in his own village for his personal benefit."

"So Itachi's out, is what you're saying? And looks like he convinced Kisame to go along with him. Fuck me, that's a bad situation. Who knows where they'll end up."

"And Zetsu?"

"Look, I know it's bonkers, but I _can't_ get anything on Zetsu. Nothing at all. I've asked Jashin, and all I get are these weird ass visions that don't make any sense. Something like a weird aura in a cave sometimes, maybe even tree bark, I dunno...the guy's not right, not even God wants to look at him."

"So you're saying that we've got two potentials in Deidara and Kakuzu, and the rest are wild cards."

"Yeah, that's about right." Hidan threw his arms wide. "Sorry, but I'm the best you've got, _angel_."

Konan rolled her eyes. She'd never really spent that much time talking directly to Hidan before, and she was starting to think she understood why Kakuzu threatened to kill him so much.

Ally, she reminded herself. They were all allies.

"We need to start by putting together contingency plans." Jiraiya spoke up, pulling out a notebook as he did so. "I'm counting on you in particular, Konan, to help me come up with plans for each village to deal with potential attacks by Nagato. You're the most familiar with his abilities and what he can do. The more we can start planning now, the more lives we might be able to save if he decides to make taking the Jinchuuriki personal."

"Of course." Konan nodded. "I'll tell you what I can."

"Good, that means I can zone out for a bit." Hidan leaned back into the water, shutting his eyes. "Ignore me for a bit, alright, I'm gonna check in on Sakura. Deidara and Sasori are probably at Oto by now and I want to make sure she's kicking some ass."

Konan didn't answer. She watched as Hidan removed his necklace and linked the chains around his fingers. It was quiet, and it took a minute for her to register that Hidan might actually be _meditating_.

"...is everyone in Akatsuki insane?"

"It's possible it might have been a secret recruitment requirement."

Konan began to talk. It was gut-churning, revealing some of Nagato's best kept secrets, but she stilled her heart by reminding herself that it was Jiraiya she was talking to. Jiraiya already knew that Nagato had the Rinnegan. Jiraiya probably could have discovered some of these things on his own with enough time. She wasn't damning Nagato. No, if anything, she was _saving_ him.

This wasn't the path they had been meant to follow. If she let him continue, he'd be damning himself and the world he thought he was saving.

She finished, and for a time both she and Jiraiya fell into silence, letting the soft bubble of the hot spring wash over them. She wasn't sure if she'd removed a weight from her shoulders or added more to it, by speaking so much of Nagato.

She'd chosen her path now. There was nothing she could do but follow it.

The silence was interrupted only by a sudden outburst from Hidan, who flew into a fighting stance and shouted out suddenly.

"No, no, kick his _ass_, what are you doing?" Hidan blinked his eyes open, looking around before swearing even more than usual. "Son of a...got fucking disconnected, of _course_. Yo, Smutty Sage, wanna tell me why all you Konoha guys are so damn unwilling to stab a bitch? Sasori's just fucking _asking_ for it to, the smug jerk."

"Are you going to _share_ with the class what you're talking about?"

"Sakura and Sasori are _in_ it now, and she somehow roped Orochimaru into helping her out. But it looks like the snake's...I mean, I don't want to say he's dying, but Sakura seems half convinced if Sasori gets a hit in, he might go down. And that Ichibi's got his hands full with some Kazekage puppet, I don't even know what the fuck-...don't give me that _look_, you asked what I saw, I'm telling you!"

"Are you _sure_ you can't explain how you're managing to telescope into a fight an entire country over?"

"...wanna convert to Jashinism?"

"Right now I'm thinking I need to get to Oto before Sakura dies."

"Shit, you're that worried? Don't be. Little Pinkie Ass-Kicker's got a trick or two up her sleeve yet. And I need to get back to Kakuzu before he starts thinking too hard about where I am." Hidan trudged his way out of the spring, throwing his cloak over his shoulder and grabbing his scythe. "Keep me in the loop, huh? And I'll let Sakura know what's going on next time she connects. At this point I'm desperate to get into a _real_ fight, you know? It's not fair that _she_ gets a fight and I'm sitting here playing diplomat. Everything's fucking backwards. Maybe I should go see if Kakuzu needs help with that bounty."

The hot springs fell quiet once again as Hidan left. Konan and Jiraiya's eyes met, each of them wondering something similar.

What the fuck had they gotten involved in?

* * *

"What is this place?"

"That where Madara does not wish us to go."

It was cold here, and not the familiar damp cold of the Mist that Kisame often grew nostalgic for. It was a bitter, dry cold that threatened to freeze his gills. It hadn't snowed, not yet, but it was perhaps inevitable with the oncoming winter. Kisame would have never moved so far north without Itachi to urge him onward.

He was curious, he would admit, as to why Madara Junior and the Zetsu so fervently attempted to drive people away from the far north of the Mountain's Graveyard. As far as he had ever known, there was nothing but ancient bones and old trees out here, coupled with the abundance of feral 'white Zetsu' to drive away anyone who thought of settling the area.

But why, Itachi had asked, do the white Zetsu come from here? Why had Madara Junior layered the borders with disorienting genjutsu to prevent explorers from getting too far within? What was buried within that was so important to keep safe?

Their journey had taken them to some very interesting locations. A deep cavern and an unmarked grave. A series of journals unreadable to anyone without Sharingan eyes. A phrase, a phrase that drove even the dying Itachi onward, desperate for _truth_, for answers that had been kept from him, from the _world_.

He hadn't expected dragging out Akatsuki's dirt to be so _interesting_.

He wasn't surprised that there were buried truths, of course. That was predictable. But he'd never imagined that they'd be led into the middle of nowhere seeking out something so strange and esoteric.

_The God Tree_…

Kisame didn't believe in gods. If gods were real, they were just as despicable as humans, which meant they _couldn't_ be godly. Only a truly sadistic force would have godlike power and not use it to calm the suffering of humanity and guide them towards peaceful paths. Humanity suffered, so gods could not be real. But the author of the Sharingan journals had no other name for the mysterious tree in the north that they claimed spawned the 'power of Kaguya', and Kisame was willing to entertain that there was at least something interesting to investigate.

They had stopped in front of a cavern with a sprawling mouth, the interior so dark that Kisame could not see more than a few meters into it. Itachi had come to a dead halt, and a shiver from Samehada was more than enough to tell him why. The air was thick with chakra, so thick that it had to be…

"A barrier."

"No ordinary barrier." Itachi confirmed. "The chakra network fueling it...I've never seen anything like it. Madara could never have generated such a thing. It would have taken the chakra of a thousand shinobi to make it."

"...and breaking it?"

"A thousand more."

"That, or a handful of _really_ dedicated Jinchuuriki."

The two men looked at each other then, realization dawning on both of their faces simultaneously.

"Ah."

"A relatively simple answer to _that_ question."

"So, surprise, Pein's been lying about his true intentions."

"No, I don't think so." Itachi shook his head. "Misleading, perhaps. I think Pein believes whatever lies beyond this barrier will help him shape the world into what he desires. Madara, on the other hand…"

No doubt _also _wanted whatever this barrier held, but likely for completely different reasons.

"That's one answer, but far more questions have arisen from it. We have yet to find the God Tree, but we can assume that is what lies beyond this barrier. We have yet to learn what it is that drives Pein and Madara to seek it."

"Whatever it is, it's worth more than nine Bijuu."

"Hn."

Itachi was troubled. He didn't resort to grunts unless he couldn't give words to his own thoughts, and at this particular moment, Kisame couldn't blame him.

He drew Samehada with a flourish, pointing it at the barrier and slowly moving forward until the tip touched the exterior. Samehada fed upon chakra, so maybe it might…

He heard a whimper from Samehada's mouth, and saw a spark of energy upon contact.

"...worth a shot, I suppose."

Kisame holstered the sword again, this time reaching out with his own hands to confirm the barrier's strength. It wasn't gentle; he was pretty certain he'd fought a few Kumo shinobi whose lightning felt gentler than the shock he weathered.

Also worth a shot, though he might not have feeling in his hand for the next few minutes.

"So he needs the nine Jinchuuriki to take it down. You know, the ironic thing is, that Haruno girl is probably closer to getting through this barrier than he is."

"Ironic, perhaps. But I believe it is also fate. A barrier brought down not by force, but by cooperation. The Bijuu have roamed this world for generations, never working as one. Forces of destruction, wrapped by the First Hokage and the Uzumaki princess into human form and gifted to the shinobi nations. But those who truly harness the Bijuu's power, coming together as one nation...only they can find what lies within. Perhaps the barrier's true intent."

"It's a little optimistic." Kisame countered. "Madara certainly seems more than eager to brute force it."

"And do we let him?"

Itachi met his eyes, and Kisame couldn't help but grin.

"I'm getting the impression that you're suggesting a hard 'no', Itachi."

"It's a question for _you_, Kisame. There's no possible way I'll make it to the end of this."

As if to emphasize, Itachi coughed. The disease was deep in his lungs now, there was no denying that, and Itachi still had little desire to seek aid, even if it was within his grasp.

"...you told me you'd try to find someone worth following, Kisame. Madara is not that man. Pein is not that man."

"Maybe that man was supposed to be _you_."

"Then you must carry this on when I am unable to. You must do this for me. And right now, there exists one person who is working in direct opposition to Madara's goals. Someone who might be capable of uniting the Jinchuuriki. Someone...who might even be capable of helping my brother find peace."

Kisame knew what Itachi was asking. He didn't like it...but who was he to deny a dying man's wish?

And maybe, just maybe, a little part of him _really_ wanted to see what lay beyond that barrier.

* * *

The stench of foul chakra was in the air, something that made the beast within her writhe with discontent. Something that didn't belong in Kumogakure.

The power of the Matatabi had gifted her with the true senses of a hunter. From the young age at which she'd had the Bijuu stored inside her, she'd always found it easier to smell the world around her, and she learned to distinguish each individual member of her village by scent. It was easier than one might think; living in a village tended to dispose one to certain 'flavors', and it was all too easy to know the difference between someone who'd been born in Kumo and someone who had immigrated there, simply by the severity of certain scents. Chakra, too, had a scent, though that had taken far longer to learn. Once she'd picked it up, however, she'd become an impeccable hunter. Few genjutsu affected smell, which meant that she could easily sniff out those in disguise or those attempting to hide from her.

Yugito was a Hunter, through and through. Even if the village shunned her, they needed her skills, even now after Kumo had withdrawn into its borders and shifted their innovation from ninjutsu to technology.

Some called her and B remnants of a darker age. Yugito knew the truth. The world would never stop needing Jinchuuriki, and the foul chakra only proved it. Could technology have told the Raikage that someone had infiltrated their village? Someone who smelled of death and rot?

And yet…

The owner of this stench was wise, and perhaps knew of her abilities. They had begun to cover their smell with other things, heavy spices perhaps, maybe cleaning equipment. Enough to prevent Yugito from sniffing them out directly, but not enough to prevent her from knowing they were there. It was only a matter of time.

No one could say that the Matatabi couldn't sniff out a rat.

"Hey yo, Yugito. There's some news, don'cha know?"

Her concentration was broken by B's deep voice, and Yugito couldn't help but hiss in discontent. "Damn it, B, I was onto something."

"Still sniffin' a rat? How's that?"

"They're good. Once I've dragged them out, I'll be sure to learn how they've covered their scent so well. I can only faintly pick up their chakra, and they've been leaving traces of it everywhere to throw me off."

"Shit, man, never heard of anyone throwin' off your nose. Then again, you never know, that's just how livin' goes."

"You said you had news?"

B thrust a newspaper in front of her. The layout was unfamiliar, and Yugito read for a moment before realizing that this was a newspaper from _Konoha_.

**Economic Boom: Newfound Peace Treaty Leads to Unprecedented Trade Between the Lands of Earth, Fire, and Wind.**

"Peace treaty?" Yugito sniffed with discontent. This...this wasn't good. If Iwa, Konoha, and Suna were aligning...the three countries could easily overpower their own with a concentrated effort. What had spurred this sudden change? Iwa had always been hostile to Konoha.

"There's this girl going around speaking peace, you see? They even think she might be headin' to our country."

"Bullshit she is." Yugito growled. "Nobody's tried that sort of thing since Hashirama Senju."

"Time's are a changin'. The old ways are agein'."

"And what does A think?"

B just smiled and shrugged, which told Yugito all she needed to know. Kumo had already taken their stance in the world. No girl was going to change that.

It didn't matter to her, anyway. Jinchuuriki didn't interfere with politics. Jinchuuriki were tools, weapons.

Hunters.

And she had a rat to sniff out.


	77. Chapter 77

Suna had many sayings, but one in particular had always hung within Gaara's mind.

"Not even the Third could conquer the desert."

It was somewhat tongue in cheek, a commentary on the mysterious disappearance of their once feared and beloved leader. None had ever known what had happened to the Third, and thus the citizens concluded that he had fallen in the desert, buried beneath the sands and never to be found by a living soul. Shinobi were dangerous, but the summer desert under the full heat of the sun? More lethal than anything.

Gaara had been gifted the title of 'desert' when he was young, for none in the village had been as lethal as he.

He'd felt a twisted sense of pride in it back then, back when he had been determined to bring about the extinction of the human race and labeled himself 'monster'. He had been more than human, more than shinobi, _desert_ incarnate, with each grain of his sand dragging down his foes and burying them beyond salvation. He'd wondered, at times, if he had become stronger than the Third. Would the Iron Sand hold up against his own? Would he have devoured the Third as the desert had, its true incarnation?

As his sand clashed against the puppet's iron, he still continued to wonder.

The iron was relentless, and Gaara couldn't help but marvel at Sasori's ability to engage the others while still keeping _him_ at bay. He was of the desert, but Sasori was the 'Red Sand', named so for the rivers of blood spilt to keep Sunagakure safe.

But Sasori was no Third, and though he wielded puppets with ease, he could not fall into the same mastery of the sand as one who had been wielding it since he was _born_.

It didn't matter that the iron grains were slick with poison, shaped into countless blades that bombarded the arena with gusto. It was slow, slower than his own, and with each distraction that the tanuki and Sakura dumped upon Sasori, the slower the Third became. Perhaps others couldn't see it, but Gaara had been training to see ever since the tanuki had thrust him into Shikoku. The nuances in the movement, the shift in attention...Sasori was _occupied_, and he'd never have a better chance of laying the Third to rest within the sand once again.

And Gaara hadn't been wasting time in this fight. He'd been _busy_.

Making golden sand was an exhaustive technique, and if not for Shukaku's chakra fueling him, he might have passed out from the effort long ago. He couldn't afford to waste his personal sand, no, that had to be dedicated to the fight. So Gaara instead had to slowly pull grains from the earth beneath the floor, weaving it through cracks in the tiling and soaking his chakra within it, changing the composition until it shimmered.

His father had mastered this technique, once upon a time. A part of Gaara found it ironic that he was learning to master it now. He'd wanted to distance himself from his father, distance himself from the man who had tried to shape him into a tool, who hadn't seen him as a _son_ but a weapon to be forged.

_I'll wield it better than you ever did. _Gaara had decided. _And by the time I'm grown, no one will even remember that it was you who used it first._

Sakura had bought him the time he needed, and now Sasori seemed to be distracted with...wait, were they just _talking_?

Granted, Sasori had Sakura at bladepoint, so it wasn't exactly a de-escalated situation, but of _course_ Sakura would find a way to chat with her opponent mid-spar. He wondered, briefly, if it was a Konoha thing. Even with all the time he'd spent with Sakura, he never found himself wanting to chat with an opponent. A fight was a fight. (And yet, if not for Naruto…)

Still, now he had to sit there and wonder if Sakura wasn't going to find some way for _Sasori_ to work for them too.

**No…** Shukaku rumbled within him. **That man is too far gone. How could a man who turned hundreds into his puppets ever empathize with humanity?**

True, perhaps. But Gaara had likely killed hundreds in his lifetime, and was still, even after all this time, willing to kill to keep his loved ones safe. At what point did killing become unforgivable? At what point was someone saveable or beyond saving?

...now _that_ was his problem, Gaara realized. It wasn't that he was a chatterbox while he fought, it's that he _thought_ too damn much. Sasori was distracted, and he had an opportunity.

He raised his golden sand up from the ground around him and honed it in on the Third. As before, even with Sasori's attention elsewhere, the iron sand rose up to challenge him. The sand, of course, was being lifted with the magnet-release technique, a combination of elemental chakras that led to such a specific manipulation of the earth. Gold, as it was taught to him by the tanuki, could purify the elemental chakra in a technique and render it element-less. This did not apply to yin and yang chakra, which technically limited its effectiveness and did not prevent Sasori's puppetry. (Chakra threads were already pure chakra, simply laced with the user's intent.) But all the iron sand that the puppet was being forced to manipulate? Wouldn't work without magnet-release.

Sand hit sand and gold enveloped iron, until bit by bit it all fell to the floor below, useless.

Gaara couldn't help but smile as he saw Sasori falter in the conversation, looking towards the Third as it uselessly tried to manipulate the sand once more.

Now, _he_ was the distraction. Sakura took the opportunity to dash forward, slamming her fist into the puppet's chest. There was a small pause and a hint of resistance, but eventually Sakura's force overpowered it, and something popped out of Sasori's back. A grey cylindrical object, with some sort of seal upon it, clattered to the ground, and after a moment so did Sasori's puppet body. No, not just Sasori's body, but _every_ puppet he'd been controlling.

"Perfect timing, Gaara." Sakura called out, giving him a thumbs-up. "That has to be where he stored his life force. If it's not in the puppet, he can't control it!"

"A rather unfortunate weakness." Orochimaru commented. His breathing was uneven, Gaara noticed at a glance, and the once composed shinobi looked...exhausted. Yes, the fight had been going on a while, but enough to exhaust a Sannin?

**He's losing his grip on that body. **

...so soon and so suddenly? How long had it been since Sasuke had left the village? Over a year, not nearly close enough to three. It's possible that three had been an overestimate, or maybe Orochimaru's jutsu was having a compounding toll every time he possessed someone new. If that was the case, how did he hope to maintain Sasuke's body?

They had time to find out, he supposed. With Sasori disabled, all that was left was seeing if they could rope Deidara away from Akatsuki and they were in the clear. Simple and quick. Technically no casualties, assuming Karin had evacuated the village in time. Sasori's life force was technically still alive, and maybe they could take advantage of that. Get Suna to make a non-lethal puppet that could allow him to talk…

**Yo, brat? That's a little fucked up. Are you suggesting we make Sasori a talking piece of furniture?**

Gaara couldn't help but chuckle aloud. No, he was definitely not suggesting that. For now, he was suggesting putting Sasori into a locked box and making sure he couldn't hurt anyone else until they figured out what to do with him.

He was tired himself, even with Shukaku supplementing him. Sure, he wanted to talk big by claiming he would use his father's technique better than he ever did, but making gold _sucked_, and he was pretty sure his father had made gold sand in advance so that he didn't have to in battle. Something he could start doing, if he was bored on the road.

One by one, his tanuki gave their regards and began to reverse summon home. Meanwhile, Sakura bent down to pick up Sasori's life-container, turning it over in her hands.

"Think Sai can figure the seal out?"

"Probably."

"He attacked _my_ village, so _I'll_ figure the seal out." Orochimaru demanded.

"Suna has the rights to this bastard, I can't just hand him over. I landed the finishing blow, so he's my takedown, and that means I take him to Suna!"

**...Brat…**

_Hmm_?

**If Sasori had to transfer his life-force into that thing, do you really think he wouldn't have a contingency plan for if someone knocked it out? How did he get it into the puppet into the first place? **

Gaara thought on this as Orochimaru stalked forward to bicker with Sakura, momentarily distracted by the fact that the two actually _were_ just bickering like they'd known each other forever. Sasori could have started with the container already in the puppet, but how did the container control the puppet to begin with? Chakra strings, it had to be, generated from the container, and that meant…

"Sakura-"

"Hm?" She looked his way as he called out, and as she did the container suddenly flew from her hands. It slotted itself into Sasori's body. _Chakra strings_. It could move a puppet so obviously it could also move itself.

Gaara's sand exploded forward, instinctively moving around Sakura as the puppet began to move. In the blink of an eye, Sasori struck…

But not for Sakura.

Blades lashed out and cut into Orochimaru's skin. The snake had dodged, but not nearly quick enough to prevent his shoulder from getting slashed by Sasori's weapon.

The two jumped backwards towards Gaara's protection, but the damage had already been done. Sakura looked towards him with a grim expression. Sasori was a master of poisons. All of his weapons were likely coated with poison.

"Soon you will be down one man." Sasori spoke, raising his puppets around him once more. "And since you were kind enough to dismiss your summons for me, this battle is once again in my favor. You were soft."

**Should have stabbed the damn thing while we had the chance.**

Gaara couldn't use any of his gold without giving the Third its iron sand back, which meant he was down to his usual repertoire of sand. He could protect the two of them here, but only if they stayed within his dome. And Orochimaru…

"Would it be too much to ask for someone to go down simply for once?" Sakura lamented. She had already pulled out a scroll with a sealed-away first-aid kit, moving to Orochimaru's side while Gaara thickened the sand wall around them. It was dark, but Sakura always kept flashlights now for just this occasion.

"Don't bother." Orochimaru insisted. "Unless you know medical jutsu, none of the standard antidotes will be effective."

"I have a tourniquet." Sakura offered. "I could chop your arm off."

"If only you could have done so at the moment of the attack, but I'm afraid Sasori's poisons work far quicker than that." Orochimaru shakes his head, and Gaara can see beads of sweat forming on his skin. "To survive I will need either the creation of an antidote, or to attempt to switch bodies ahead of schedule. Either way, you will be facing Sasori alone."

Two options...no, those weren't the _only_ options. Orochimaru didn't know about the third. Gaara looked up to meet Sakura's eyes, seeing that she too was thinking of a third option.

Jashin's power.

But Sakura was hesitating, and at first Gaara couldn't see why. It was simple. Heal Orochimaru, get back into the fight. But if she didn't heal him...

If she didn't heal him, he'd be forced to try and take Sasuke over early. As far as Tsunade and Jiraiya had believed, the odds of this succeeding would be far lower, perhaps impossible. It was a jutsu only meant to succeed once every three years. (Though of course, it was possible that Orochimaru had purposely spread misinformation, but if so, then why hadn't he taken Sasuke sooner?) If it had been a year from now, there wouldn't have been a debate. There was no risking Sasuke, and having Orochimaru on their side against Sasori was more useful than not.

But now? With poison weakening him and a low chance of him being able to take Sasuke at all? Gaara could see why Sakura was hesitating.

It was possible this was their chance to bring _Orochimaru_ down for good.

**Hell, if you let the poison weaken him enough to kill him now, you can always pin his death on Sasori.**

Shukaku spoke the truth. It meant they'd have to take Sasori down on their own, but they could always bunker down and wait for backup. He had faith in Sai and Sasuke and Karin, faith in their ability to either disable Deidara or change his allegiance. And Juugo was likely still attempting to find where Kabuto had squirreled them away to, he could be there at any minute and then the tables would start to turn in their favor again. He could summon more tanuki if Juugo was around to keep Sasori off their back. They could win without Orochimaru. In fact, they'd always planned on it.

It was objectively the better decision to let this poison do its job. Karin would become Otokage, and Oto would join the treaty. Sasuke would be safe, and a powerful foe would be taken care of.

And yet…

And yet what would it mean? They would live with a lie, live with a scenario they could have fixed for their own benefit. Much like Danzo had justified the genocide of an entire clan for the 'benefit of the Leaf', for his own benefit, they too will have brought death for their own gain. At what point would they draw the line?

At what point, he found himself asking again, did killing become unforgivable?

Sakura's eyes tore away from his own, and he knew that she was asking herself the exact same question.

* * *

Sai was starting to see spots whenever he closed his eyes.

Deidara wasn't just a bomber, no no, he was _the _bomber, he had come into this fight with so much exploding clay that he could probably terraform the entirety of Otogakure into his image if not for the fact that Sasuke was so diligently keep them disabled or too high in the air to damage anyone. Karin, too, was dexterously using her chakra chains to grab whatever bombs Sasuke missed and fling them back towards Deidara with frightening precision. Ideally, she would be using her chains to restrain the man, but Deidara was proving a bit too nimble on that clay bird of his, and exceedingly determined to keep the fight out of her grasp if he could help it.

He'd expected Deidara to double down on trying to keep this fight 'between artists', but the man was fully focused on Sasuke now, and Sai could put together that he was simply trying to eliminate the third wheel so they could get back to their fun. But the Uchiha was far too skilled to fall to a mere bomb; even _he_ had to acknowledge that. Every slash of his lightning-coated blade was made with the accuracy of only someone who had mastered the Sharingan, and there wasn't a single movement wasted as Sasuke leapt from building to building, gliding with the help of the grotesque wings that had been gifted to him by the curse mark. He could almost see the beauty in how Sasuke fought, (and he was certain the Hageshisai would), but it was overshadowed by the curse's transformation.

If Sai wanted to look at wings, he'd look at animals that were meant to have them.

He arched his own bird across the sky, halting in his barrage of ink animals to consider the situation. They could drag this out, sure, but Sakura and Gaara were down there sparring with Sasori, and more than anything Sai wanted to ensure that they were well. He and Deidara could talk art later, after Sasuke's interrogation.

They hadn't been fighting without purpose, after all. Karin had been planning ahead for a while, and she had learned the esoteric Uzumaki sealing arts from scrolls rescued from Orochimaru's eager clutches. Of course, seals had to be placed on flat surfaces, which was a downside when fighting an enemy who preferred to be in the air. But an air enemy could be manipulated, and that's what Sai and Sasuke were for. Two people could push the direction a fight went in, and Karin...well, she was likely perpetuating that she was stuck on the ground, unable to do much besides reach out with chakra chains, but in actuality staying on the ground _was_ the strategy. She needed to be ready to activate her seal the moment Deidara was in range.

A barrier seal, a specialty that she'd honed under Orochimaru's guidance, one that could keep the power of Deidara's bombs contained to a predetermined, safe spot while also containing Deidara himself. He wouldn't blow himself up for no reason, not when there was no chance of escaping. All they had to do was lure Deidara in and then force him to the ground.

And as luck would have it, they were almost there. A training ground just on the outskirts of the village, one that Sasuke had used countless times before. Sai scanned the area with his scope, catching glimpses of the various paper seals that Karin had used to decorate the perimeter. The time had come, and he knew the strategy.

He started by urging his own ink bird upwards above Deidara, preparing a series of attacks as he did so. Instead of aiming for Deidara specifically, he set loose a large flock of ink birds that blanketed the sky. He watched Deidara's eyes widen, clearly not expecting the sudden surge, and smiled as the bomber did exactly as he expected: he flew downwards, attempting to buy time as he created a clay counter.

Sasuke stepped up, attacking from the side so that Deidara specifically lowered in the direction of the training ground. Instead of lightning, Sasuke's hands weaved and an enormous ball of fire spewed forth from his mouth. (An Uchiha specialty, if Sai remembered correctly.) Deidara dipped lower and lower, arching closer and closer to the target, and then…

A barrier of chakra, concentrated and pure red, erupted from the ground around Deidara. It formed a dome about fifty feet high, and as it formed, Sai watched as Karin's chakra chains weaved across to form an extra layer.

"Gotcha!" Karin called out. "Try flying out of this one, huh? Nobody escapes the Adamantine Chains of the Uzumaki clan!"

"Son of a bitch!" He heard Deidara curse. He saw several clay birds fly and detonate against the barrier walls, but to no avail. "You fucking planned on trapping me this whole time?"

"Bingo! Fell right for it, didn't ya?"

Karin was answered with more explosions, and Sai was less sure about his earlier postulation that Deidara wouldn't blow himself up for no reason.

He took in a deep breath, letting his ink bird land on the ground and disperse. Maintaining it took concentration and a steady trickle of chakra, something that he didn't want to waste when he had another fight to go interfere with.

But first…

"Deidara." He spoke up, heading to the barrier's perimeter. He waited for the explosions to cease, knowing that he, out of everyone there, would be best at getting Deidara's attention. "We set up this barrier here because of what I said before. We don't have to be enemies."

"So what, you're going to lock me into here until I swear loyalty or something?"

"No. We're going to lock you in there until you tell Sasuke about his brother, and then we're going to attempt to have a civil discussion about the benefits of joining the Shinobi Neutrality Project."

"Do I look fucking neutral to you? What do you think my art is, dumbass, it's blowing shit up!"

"Controlled demolitions are necessary for terraforming areas for human civilization, as well as opening up mining areas for the collection of ores that are used in-"

"I came from fucking Iwa, I know what controlled demolitions are!"

"Ah, right. Then it'll take less time to explain things." Sai put on his best smile. It still looked a little fake...no, who was he kidding, it looked awkward as hell and Gaara was absolutely going to give him shit for it. "Besides, do you really think Akatsuki are utilizing your artistic skills to their fullest extent? Do you think your leader even knows what art is at all?"

Deidara frowned, walking forward until he could lean against the barrier, as close as he could get to Sai.

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

"People usually say that to me when I'm right."

"Move it."

He felt himself getting shoved aside as Sasuke approached the barrier, his curse mark receding back to its spot on his shoulder. Of course, Sasuke was single-minded as always, and he finally had a lead regarding his brother and how to find him. And as he'd recognized before, he had to help Sakura out before he could waste time with Deidara.

"I'll be back with Sakura." Sai promised, mostly towards Karin, who gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't bully him too much."

"You're gonna leave me here with the Uchiha?" Deidara called out, banging his fist against the barrier. "Hey, come on, huh? I thought you liked me! Artists gotta stick together, you can't just abandon me after all that!"

"If you tell him what he wants to know, he'll leave you alone." Sai gave Deidara a small wave. Even if he could stick around, Sasuke assuredly wouldn't let them talk until he'd squeezed everything out of Deidara anyway. Sakura it was, despite Deidara's yells of protest as he turned to head towards the nearest entrance to the underground.

It was quiet, mostly because the shinobi had evacuated to specific bunkers and wouldn't leave until Karin gave them the all-clear. But as he headed closer and closer to where Sakura was due to be fighting with Sasori, he realized it was _too_ quiet.

Shouldn't he be hearing the sound of battle by now?

His question was answered as he turned a corner and bumped into none other than Juugo. At first, Sai was relieved. If Juugo was here, the battle was done, right?

And then Juugo explained that Sakura hadn't made it to the rendezvous point, and Sai's entire body went cold.

_If not here, then where? _


	78. Chapter 78

The first step to understanding a person, the Jushisai had told her, was to understand what made them happy.

Sakura's inner thoughts were tongue in cheek as she considered Orochimaru. _The bastard's probably at his happiest when he's drowning puppies. _

The Jushisai claimed that there was value in all life, in every experience, and that it was through experiencing the points of view of all life that one could truly understand life.

Onoki had impressed upon her that an ambassador must be willing to throw aside bias for the sake of cooperation, and that she would naturally come across people she disliked and would have to work with them despite.

Her own inner thoughts believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that Orochimaru would be better off dead. That there wasn't a single bit of benefit to trying to understand him. That there wouldn't be any way of convincing him to join a peaceful treatise. The man had invaded Konoha on a whim. The man tortured living beings in his attempt to 'further science'. He was a sadist. A narcissist that thought only of himself and of his own power.

_He's only here now because you have something he wants._

_He's only here now because killing Sasori would be pleasurable to him._

* * *

"_It's not like he was always a prick." Tsunade said thoughtfully, mulling over a piece of barbecue. "Well, okay, maybe he was, but in the way that Sai of yours is a prick. He was blunt. He thought he was doing us a favor by pointing out the obvious. If anything, he was a biggest proponent of the greater good over the wellbeing of an individual. If someone was weak, what good were they for the village?" _

"_But he must have thought well of you and Jiraiya, his teammates?"_

"_Maybe." Tsunade admitted. "He didn't like Jiraiya at all, at first. I think if he'd been given the chance, he would have taken me and left Jiraiya in the dirt. He didn't think it was worth the effort of teaching him."_

"_And now that Jiraiya's become stronger?"_

"_I think he doesn't like Jiraiya now because he proved him wrong."_

* * *

The Jushisai said the second step to understanding someone was to understand what caused them pain.

Pain was born of fear, born of suffering and tribulation. Pain showed what a person's heart truly latched onto. If you did not care for someone, you felt no pain when they suffered, if they died. Feeling pain meant that there was some bond that you clung to, be it to yourself and your own wellbeing, or the wellbeing of another.

To truly know someone, you must know what they loved and what they feared. What they were willing or unwilling to endure.

_Orochimaru is willing to endure pain and death for my knowledge. For Sasori's destruction. For __**chaos**__, for war and violence upon the Hidden Leaf. For the sake of power, Sasuke's power, __**Kaguya's**_ _power. _

What did Orochimaru want? What was he willing to endure anything for? Was there anything he wouldn't do to reach that goal?

If Sakura kept him alive here and now, would his drive and endurance serve to undo everything she hoped to accomplish?

It should have been easy. Let him die. Let him die and wait for Juugo and Sai to arrive, let Sasori be overwhelmed with numbers and let Orochimaru simply be a battle casualty. They could mourn the loss of a brilliant mind and move Otogakure forward into an era of peace. Karin would be with her. Karin would _work_ with her.

Orochimaru's breathing hitched and he lurched forward, stopped only by Sakura reaching out to steady him. The poison was moving. From what information Chiyo had sent them, the poison likely wouldn't be immediately lethal. Sasori liked to play with his prey. Liked to drag information out of them with the promise of an antidote, letting them die only when they chose to defy him, or as his whim suited him.

But that didn't mean the poison wouldn't make a person suffer.

"Get a move on, Haruno." Orochimaru hissed. "This sand dome won't keep him out forever."

Move on with the battle, Orochimaru was insisting. Leave him to handle his own fate. Even _he_ wanted her to let him go. Not that Sakura thought the man would go down without a fight; he'd simply try to find Sasuke before the poison overtook him.

But they could kill him here and now before he had a chance, weakened by poison, all her problems solved…

* * *

"_It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. He's going to have to die."_

_Sakura's breathing steadied as she rested. Dodging Tsunade's furious strikes was difficult enough when she wasn't being interrogated, and she'd take every break the woman allowed her. Even with her steadiness returning, she couldn't find it in her heart to disagree with the Hokage. _

"_You don't think there's even remotely a chance of him agreeing?"_

"_Oh, he might agree. And he'll bide his time, get whatever he wants out of the arrangement, and then go his own way when it benefits him most. That's just the kind of person he is now."_

"_But __**how**__?" Sakura asked, desperate. "How does someone grow up in a village like Konoha and just...give up on everyone who ever cared about him? Everything he worked hard to protect and build?"_

"_You could ask the same about Sasuke Uchiha."_

_Sakura bit her lip. "That's different. Sasuke underwent major trauma at the hand of his brother." _

"_And you think Orochimaru had a picturesque life? His parents died in combat before he hit puberty. He was thrust into two of the most bloody wars in shinobi history and saw comrades and civilians slaughtered in front of him. He barely ever knew peacetime. At least half of his existence within Konoha was within times of war."_

"_But that's true for you as well! And Jiraiya!" _

"_I was so stricken by a fear of blood that I left the village for decades and refused to return to active duty. Jiraiya was so haunted by the war-torn villages of Rain that he stayed behind and trained orphans, __**enemy orphans**__, to become shinobi, so that his conscience could be cleared. We all suffered under war. We all coped differently."_

"_Orochimaru?"_

"_Maybe you should ask him why he's __**really**_ _so obsessed with the idea of immortality."_

* * *

Her amulet burned hot against her skin, and her chakra stilled, integrating itself with the natural energy around her.

_It's really not a question at all what the right thing to do is._

_He needs to die sooner or later._

_Nobody I love is safe as long as he's alive._

She saw black markings begin to wind across her skin, the surest sign that she'd pulled nature energy into her body. She saw Gaara's disbelief out of the corner of her eye, and saw, with some amusement, the awestruck, yet still curious gaze that came onto Orochimaru's face.

_It's not about living forever, is it? It's about __**not dying**__._

Every being was capable of love, and every being could be torn from that capability by will or circumstance. Another preaching of the Jushisai. An ideology that Sakura had seen in Gaara, a boy who'd had love wrested from him and thought himself incapable of it, thought it a pathetic emotion not worth the trouble it caused...and _yet_…

_Orochimaru saw his parents die young. Saw his comrades fall in war. Saw his teammates lose themselves to the grief of battle. _

_All this misery and __**death**_ _was the cause._

* * *

"_So tell me, after you've gotten all of that, then what?"_

"_You know, Haruno, I actually have no idea."_

* * *

It would be easy to let this man die.

So, _so_ easy.

"You listen up, you idiotic, sadistic bastard."

Sakura placed one hand upon Orochimaru's forehead, and touched the other to her amulet. She felt energy well up within her, and knew, with just a push, that she could _connect_.

"I don't think you're worth saving. I don't think you're worth the effort or the chakra. I think I'd find joy in watching Sasori tear you to pieces, only overshadowed by the joy of letting me do it myself. You've hurt people precious to me, and many more than just that. You've killed because it served your purpose and haven't given a single thought about the people you were killing. People call you monster. I don't think that term's good enough. I think you're a worm that's lost sight of what it means to be human. You've retreated so far away from your own self that I wonder if there's anything left to what you used to be at all. No body. Not even an entire soul. You're pathetic."

She _pushed_, feeling the flow of chakra within her sync with Orochimaru's, and then she felt _pain_. Blistering pain over every inch of her body, like sharp needle points had stabbed into every part of her skin. The poison, she realized, and it was somehow _nothing_ compared to what she felt within her arms.

They felt _hollow_, like a piece of her had been ripped out. Like an itch that could never be scratched, intensifying over time until she could barely think of anything else, could only think of what was _missing_ and how she needed it _back_.

This was what Orochimaru was feeling right now. The pain of the poison, yes, but the pain of the curse the Third Hokage had wrought upon him, that he might never be able to heal.

_That she could heal, if she chose it._

"I'm not doing this because you're worth saving." She insisted, each word a struggle to produce as her body's synchronized pain threatened to throw her into unconsciousness. "I'm doing this because I want what _you_ wanted. A world where people don't have to needlessly die. A united world. No more war, no more suffering, no more _death_. And I need Otogakure to do it."

Sakura pushed again, letting her chakra flow into the man. Poison control, that was the first part, the easiest. Separate the poison from the body and break it down, then heal the damage done to the veins, to the brain, to the organs.

"I could do it if you died here. I could do it with Karin's help. She's only too happy to sign my treaty. But I have to think bigger than that. I have to think of the ones I have yet to convert. The ones still doubting that I can do the impossible. That I can unite the shinobi countries."

Sakura felt the pain of the poison begin to ebb from her body, and she knew that she had found success. The poison was clearing. Orochimaru would live, this _body_ would live. And yet…

_And yet there was more._

"I'm doing this because if I can get Orochi-fucking-maru's signature on that scroll, the entire world is going to see that there isn't _anything_ I can't do! I'm doing this to show the world that I'm _Sakura Haruno_ and that I will protect every person in this world that allies themselves with me, even pathetic _bastards_ like you! So you pay attention, Orochimaru, because even if I come to regret this, even if you get _everything_ you want at the cost of everyone I love…"

Sakura's vision began to flash white, and she was uncertain if it was from the pain or, somehow, from the connection. Still, she forced herself to speak, to say what she so desperately needed to say.

"You're never going to be able to live it down that it was all because of _me_."

Sakura pushed, pushed harder than she'd ever pushed before, and all the white around her went black.

* * *

"_Could you fix it? The damage to his soul?"_

_Tsunade shook her head. "Not in the way he would like. That's impossible. The pieces of his soul that were severed by the Shinigami lie within its stomach now. You would have to face the Shinigami itself to get it back...and that would require a sacrifice of your own."_

"_But you still could help him."_

"_It would be a trade." Tsunade explained. "Relocating the damage elsewhere. Like a skin graft of sorts, only what you take cannot grow back. I would have given him back his arms, but he would have lost something else in turn. It was an irony that I neglected to mention to him at the time. He's grown so used to being above consequence. To being so good at what he is that he can weather any retaliation."_

"_You wanted to punish him?"_

"_I think I did. I wanted to punish him for killing our sensei. For daring to think he could use my pain against me for his gain. I was angry. Angry that he'd failed me."_

"_Failed?"_

"_He was supposed to be the one that kept our heads on straight. That kept our minds on the goal and our hearts in line. That reminded us of what was at stake. He didn't just turn his back on Konoha, he turned his back on __**us**__."_

"_...you miss him."_

"_Yes."_

* * *

Chakra was tied to the soul. Some said that chakra was recycled upon death, constantly being renewed and birthed upon new shinobi. It had to be tied to _something_ beyond the body, or else Sasori couldn't have existed in his mechanical form, constantly generating new chakra despite the fact that he had left biology behind. And yet it wasn't the soul that generated chakra, for there were many born without any chakra at all, and clearly they must have souls nonetheless.

The Jushisai had never spoken of healing _souls_ because damaging a soul was rare and near impossible, and reversing said damage was, perhaps, the realm of the gods.

(Tsunade was referred to as a god of medicine by some, and if she truly was capable of doing what Sakura was about to attempt, she understood why.)

She didn't have a template on which to try this. All she could do was let go and leave the process in the hands of something greater. As she'd done before for Sai, before she'd known the mechanics of healing and how it worked, she put herself in Jashin's hands.

She felt the patchwork of _something_ overlaid on Orochimaru, _within_ him, something that had been broken and would never again be whole. She felt something within her reach out to tear it apart once more, picking at the overlay piece by piece and placing it elsewhere. The itching, aching feeling left her arms and slowly, agonizingly, began to appear elsewhere. It was enough to almost make her let go, break the connection…

In the blackness, Sakura saw color. A single speck of color, slowly spiraling down, as pink as her own hair.

_A petal?_

She dared not move, but the distraction, as brief as it was, provided her mind with sweet, sweet relief from the task she'd been focused on. Like a breath of fresh air after holding her head underwater, enough to let her delve back down again for a second go.

She could finish this. She _would_ finish what she started.

Sakura plunged in once again, and let the agony overtake her.

* * *

When she opened her eyes once again, the sand had fallen around them. Gaara was dueling with Sasori once again, frantically fighting off a legion of puppets alongside a few more summoned tanuki.

Next to her, Orochimaru took in a gasp of air, falling forward onto his hands and knees. Had she done it? No..._what_ had she done?

She could see the skin on Orochimaru's hands start to lighten, no longer that bruised, purple state she had seen on them before. The effect spread out until his hands resembled the natural paleness of his flesh.

Orochimaru's head snapped towards her, no, looking _behind_ her, and suddenly his hands flew through seals. Sakura ducked instinctively as fire spewed from Orochimaru's mouth, much hotter and fiercer than the fire he'd conjured earlier, and as she turned to see her assailant she realized that Sasori himself had charged her, only to be repelled by Orochimaru's ferocious attack.

"My arms…" She heard Orochimaru whisper, his voice full of glee. "You've given me back my _arms_."

He moved to push himself to his feet, but as he did so, his legs suddenly buckled, unable to hold his weight. He crashed back to the ground, sprawled, and his eyes widened as he realized what had happened. Sakura glanced over, catching a glimpse of the skin on the man's feet, now purpling and bruising instead.

"Looks like the girl has some healing talent." Sakura heard Sasori chuckle. The fire on his body had already begun to die down, leaving the puppet scorched but otherwise functional. "But if you can't even stand, what use will you be against me?"

A coiled metal rope unwound from within Sasori's stomach, lashing out towards her just as Gaara's sand began to pull him away. However, before Sakura could move to defend herself, something rushed out from behind her, grabbing at the rope before it could touch her. Orochimaru's arms had extended out, winding around the rope like snakes and rushing for Sasori's body. Gaara's sand held the body in place as Orochimaru grasped at the cylindrical container within Sasori's chest.

"You underestimated me, Sasori. I don't need _legs_ to defeat you."

Orochimaru pulled, and Sakura saw the puppet slacken as the cylinder was removed from its chest. They'd done this before, but this time Sakura knew they couldn't stop here. She reached for the pouch at her hip, pulling out an empty sealing scroll, one Sai had bequeathed her to carry things that would usually be too heavy. She unfurled it just as Orochimaru finished pulling the cylinder towards them.

"On the scroll!" She cried out, and Orochimaru didn't need to be told twice. He thrust the cylinder onto the paper, and Sakura in turn channeled the last of her chakra into activating the seal.

With a small puff of smoke, the cylinder that contained Sasori was gone, with only a 'confirmation' seal left in its place on the scroll's surface.

There was a moment of silence, and then Sakura felt all of the tension leave her body at once.

"We did it."

Her eyes flickered up to Orochimaru, who was still looking down at his hands, examining them. Moving each finger and no doubt reveling in the ability to push chakra through them without difficulty. His revel ceased quickly, however, as he attempted to move his legs once more, and found himself unable.

"Sakura Haruno…" He said aloud. "I am genuinely not sure whether or not I should hate you right now."

Sakura let out a gasping chuckle, reaching up to wipe sweat from her brow. In her mind she had a witty retort, some banter that could make light of the difficult situation they'd just put themselves through.

She realized, seconds before she fell into Gaara's arms, that her body was out of chakra.

Harassing Orochimaru would just have to wait until she woke up.


	79. Chapter 79

Sai really should have been able to predict by now that he'd _never_ be able to predict what kind of situation Sakura would lead him into.

It was a crapshoot whether it would be horrifying or amusing, though this time it was some odd joke of a blend between the two. He had sent out ink rats to track down his wayward teammates, finding them in a large room that was peppered with broken, inactivated puppets, as well as scorch marks from what was undoubtedly jutsu. Sakura was unconscious, _again_, he'd really need to impress upon her that passing out wasn't really that good for her health, but he was immediately distracted by this thought upon seeing Orochimaru on the floor, not standing up despite the fact that he'd been perfectly capable of doing so the last time Sai had seen him.

Gaara, somehow, looked just about as confused as he was.

"Sasori's in the scroll." The Jinchuuriki managed to state, nodding his head towards a scroll at his feet.

"I don't think you're supposed to put people in those."

"A fair assessment, but Sasori worked hard to render himself to be less than human." Orochimaru added, reaching out for the scroll. His hand was slapped away by Gaara's sand, and the two looked at each other in a way that was _absolutely_ comical, but Sai knew in his gut that if he laughed, the Sannin wouldn't suffer it.

"That belongs to Suna now."

"He invaded _my_ village, so _my_ prisoner."

"You'd be dead if not for Sakura, so you owe us this."

"I would be _fine_ if not for Haruno, as Sasori wouldn't have traipsed in looking for her and _you_."

Sai really didn't care who got Sasori at this point, though he supposed if Orochimaru had access to the man it might potentially work against them in the long run, but so long as Sasori was contained and no longer hunting them, that was one check off their list.

Of course, if Sakura _really_ cared about it, he could always sneak the Sasori scroll out later.

"I'm really not sure what I'm supposed to be making of this." Sai heard Juugo speak behind him. The man sounded unnaturally level, almost like Sai had fresh out of Root, though Karin had informed him that it was emotional discipline necessary to keep Juugo's apparently murderous thoughts at bay, rather than any effort to create a 'perfect soldier'.

"If it helps, I don't either." Sai put on his best smile for the boy. "But Orochimaru with paralyzed legs is probably some rather damning information." He let his voice grow over Orochimaru and Gaara's bickering. "If I told Lady Tsunade about this, she might spit her drink over it."

"And what makes you think I care what Tsunade thinks?"

"I don't, but she's Hokage, and she's certainly going to tell every allied leader all about it, if only to spite you."

Orochimaru didn't speak again, but his hand slunk away from the scroll, allowing Gaara to grab it with his sand and float it over to Sai.

And with that, Sai was holding a member of Akatsuki in his back pocket.

He'd never, _never_ be able to predict what sort of situation Sakura would throw him in. But he was starting to find a strange sort of thrill to it.

He left the four to their business; he knew Sakura was safe in Gaara's hands and Juugo would figure out whatever the hell was going on with Orochimaru, and since he'd found the rather mutilated corpse of Kabuto just down the hallway, he knew he didn't have to worry about him either. The only final loose end to tie up was the one he'd left with Sasuke and Karin.

There was a light-heartedness to his step that he'd learned only came with the knowledge that a hard battle was done. He didn't think it would ever top the feeling of seeing Danzo dead and knowing he was free, but dealing with a hard enemy that wanted his friends dead came fairly close.

"And where the hell is Sakura? You said you were getting her?"

Karin's voice jolted him out of his post-battle reverie as he approached Deidara's containment. Sasuke and Deidara were bickering, expected, and Karin looked as though she was ready to strangle both of them.

"She's unconscious." Sai said simply.

"...but not _dead_, right?"

"No, not dead." Sai pulled Sasori's scroll out of his pocket and held it up with a smile. "Sasori's in here."

"..._you aren't supposed to put people in those._"

"That's what I said."

Karin let out an audible groan, and Sai felt a rare, natural laugh come to him. At least someone else found the situation as ridiculous as he did.

"Has Deidara spoken about Itachi?"

"Yeah, but not anything useful. It seems like he'd just as soon join Sasuke on the Itachi murder party, surprisingly enough. It's hard to believe they're in the same group."

Perhaps it was a strange form of loyalty, despite a dislike of a partner. Sai made his way over to the barrier, deciding Sasuke had gotten his chance. He'd been trained in interrogation in Root, and now he had an excuse to put it to work for something that actually _mattered_ to him.

"Finally came crawling back, huh?" Deidara, to Sasuke's annoyance, made a heel turn out of the conversation to address Sai. "Can you _please_ let me out for a minute, I won't even use bombs, I just want to kick this brat's ass."

"Maybe in a minute, if he doesn't behave." Sai smiled as Sasuke through an angry grunt his way.

"He's lying about Itachi."

"Of course he is. He's Akatsuki."

Sasuke's eyes met his own briefly, and Sai held firm. He could tell the Uchiha still wanted a chance to interrogate, but to his surprise, Sasuke backed down. Sai wasn't sure if it was out of some newfound respect or the fact that Karin was glaring him down behind them, but he was grateful that Sasuke could at least show slightly more maturity than he'd thought him capable of.

And he could use the window to do some good, anyway.

"Tell me what you know about Itachi and where he is, and I'll let you fistfight Sasuke."

He ignored the sound of Sasuke sputtering behind him and instead focused on Deidara, who had snorted somewhat endearingly before leaning against the barrier to talk.

"I _told_ him, I don't know fuck all about where Itachi is. He's been missing for like a month or so now."

Sai ignored the sound of Sasuke hissing "_He didn't say that!"_ behind him. "Missing?"

"Yeah, him and Kisame both. Sent Leader into a rage. Sasori was supposed to interrogate Haruno about it, but I can see you all don't know either. Personally, the bastard can fuck right off for all I care."

"Akatsuki doesn't seem like it's holding together very well, does it?"

"Hey, quit talking like you've converted me." Deidara protested. "Sasori's out, Itachi and Kisame fucked off, we've still got half a dozen shinobi that are far more capable than I am at kicking your ass. If you keep pissing off Leader…"

"He probably should have just come himself, if he's so strong." Sai countered. "Seems cowardly to send others to do his dirty work."

"...yeah, okay, I can't argue with that." Deidara shrugged. "I can only tell you that he's stronger than me. Plus there's the zombie duo…"

"Hidan and Kakuzu? Oh, we can deal with them."

Deidara grinned. "I really can't tell if that confidence is cute or stupid."

"It's a simple manner of understanding motivations." Sai smiled in turn. "So that brings us back to you, doesn't it? What can we do to convince you to make your art for our side?"

Deidara was quiet, but he gestured with his hand for Sai to come closer. Sai hesitated, but the barrier seemed solid enough, so he walked until he was just next to the barrier. Deidara leaned close, as though he was about to whisper a secret.

"Eat shit."

Then, Deidara pulled a large lump of clay out of his pouch, shoving it into his mouth without much ceremony. Sai would have commented if not for the fact that Deidara's body immediately began to contort and grow, disturbing even before the realization that Deidara was _making himself explode_.

He cursed, loudly, only to find Sasuke of all people pulling him away from the barrier. He heard the large sound of explosion and felt the ground shake beneath his feet, and as he looked towards the spot where Deidara once was, he saw..._parts_.

_He really was crazy enough to blow himself up._

"Ugh, do you guys not trust me at all? I told you he couldn't get through my barrier!" Karin called out to them from nearby. "What a _waste_ though. If he couldn't have directed us to Itachi he could have at _least_ given us a little more on Akatsuki. Sorry, Sasuke."

Sasuke grunted, letting go of the back of Sai's shirt. Sai gave him a respectful nod; even though the barrier had held, if it _hadn't_, he'd have owed Sasuke his life.

Sakura was going to kill him, though, for letting Deidara explode.

He forced himself to look back at the mess as Karin lowered the barrier. Was there anything left to salvage? Any scrolls, any weapons? Probably not. Though for some reason the parts looked strange, as though they were changed color a bit quicker than parts were supposed to…

_Not parts._

_Clay._

The son of a bitch had blown up a _clone_, and now the barrier was _down_.

He saw the earth open up just in time to catch the _real_ Deidara hopping out of it, having used the Hiding in Earth technique to remain out of sight just until the barrier had come down. With a puff of smoke, a bird appeared, and Deidara was out of the range of the barrier before Karin could throw it up again.

"It's been fun, but I'm not sticking around without Sasori to back me up." Deidara gave a cheeky wave. "You'd better practice your art, 'cause the next time we meet, I'm gonna blow you away!"

Sai half expected Sasuke to charge in again, but as he looked towards the Uchiha, the boy merely huffed.

"I'm tired." Sasuke admitted. "And he's not worth it. I'm going to find Sakura."

A sentiment Sai could at least half agree upon, though as he watched Deidara disappear into the horizon, he grappled with a strange and unusual sense of anticipation.

* * *

Sakura woke to the familiar feeling of chakra exhaustion and a pressure between her eyes. She groaned, lying still for a moment until the pressure passed and she could allow herself to process reality.

Sasori was captured, and seeing that she was still alive, Deidara had likely been disabled as well.

Two down. Six to go.

She was back in the bedroom Orochimaru had lent to them, and wasn't surprised to see Gaara there, as he usually was whenever chakra exhaustion got the better of her.

"Sai?" She asked, her voice hoarse.

"Alive and well." Gaara answered. "But Deidara got away."

"Really? Karin seemed so sure he couldn't bomb out of her barrier."

"Apparently he's craftier than we thought."

"Ugh." Sakura groaned again as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "So we really only just took care of Sasori." Better than nothing, but with how much Hidan had touted that Deidara might be able to be swayed to their side…

"Hey, you're up!"

The door to the room swung open and Karin walked in, grinning from ear to ear as she made her way to Sakura's side. "Have I told you that I love you?" She continued, sitting down next to her. "I love you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Um...thanks?"

"Also, for goodness sake, how much chakra did you _use_ in that fight?" The girl rolled up her sleeve, and as Sakura looked at her arm she saw small welts decorating the skin. Welts in crescent shapes, looking strangely like…

"Yes, _bite it_, I know it's weird, but I can give you a chakra transfusion." Karin explained. "I can keep waxing on about how great you are once you're back to normal."

Sakura shot a wary look to Gaara, who merely shrugged. It wasn't as though she was really _keen_ on the idea of biting Karin but the girl was insisting, so Sakura swallowed her trepidation and leaned forward.

...well, she couldn't say it didn't _work,_ but she was going to make sure she never had to do it again.

"Kabuto's dead, just like I wanted, and now Orochimaru's _chairbound_, which normally wouldn't have mattered at all if he had Kabuto to wheel him around, but he _doesn't_, which means he's looking for someone new." Karin began to explain. "Plus, Kabuto kept the pain of the soul-curse at bay. Nobody else knew how to do it, and I doubt he trusts anyone else to learn. He's going to have to either rely on _me_ or risk picking someone else, and I can guarantee that he picks one of mine. You've practically gift-wrapped me Oto on a platter."

"He can use his jutsu more easily, though."

"Oh please, like he'll be able to beat me and Sasuke." Karin rolled her eyes. "And maybe he's stronger now, but without his little minion to go around keeping order, he's going to start losing people to me."

Karin was confident, Sakura had to give her that. She still wasn't sure things were going to be that easy, but it was nice to feel that inkling of hope inside her chest, especially after what it had taken to get them there.

_Orochimaru has his arms back…_

It was entirely possible the world was going to denounce her just for that. Every Kage currently on the treaty agreed that Orochimaru was a threat, and now she'd gone and...well, _armed_ him. Would this potentially mean Sasuke's end? Would this mean her own, now that she'd gone and offered him information on Kaguya in order to survive the fight with Sasori?

Sakura didn't have answers. All she could cling to was that they were alive and that Akatsuki was down a man, which made them ever so much smaller of a threat.

The infusion of chakra from Karin was more than enough to get her back on her feet, though Sakura took things easy at first, nursing some wounds and checking on her spear, which had weathered the attack but would need repair in the long run.

She allowed herself to take a breath and unwind as Karin prattled on about the future, moving to check her reflection in the mirror. She looked exhausted, undeniably, and her hair had started to get long again. It was strange; after so many years of wearing it long, she'd gotten _used_ to wearing it short. The only reason it had gotten so long again was that, ironically, she'd stopped caring so much about her appearance.

It was strangely easy to forget why she'd grown it so long in the first place. Why she'd even begun this journey. Why she, personally, had wanted to come to Oto at all.

There was still one last weight on her shoulders she needed to remove.

"Karin, I need to speak with Sasuke."

"What? Him?" Karin blinked in surprise, midway into talking about communication reforms in Oto. "Oh, he's off sparring with Sai, I think." She grinned, somewhat mischievously. "Ever since Sai nailed him with that dart, Sasuke's had it in for him."

Sakura laughed. Of course he did. Ever the one-track mind, Sasuke, exactly as Naruto was, too. Once they found somebody worth challenging, they wouldn't stop until that somebody had been defeated.

"Take me to them, please." She asked. "And we can talk about Oto later. There's been something I've been putting off, and now that Akatsuki's been pushed back, there's no better time for it."

Karin seemed a little disappointed at being 'ignored in favor of Sasuke', but Sakura was learning by now that the girl didn't upset that easily, and simply preferred to tease or provoke whenever the situation suited her. It was a trait she could see passing on to Naruto; it continued to surprise her how similar the two cousins were at times, despite the completely different upbringing. Perhaps there was something akin to an 'Uzumaki' temperament…

True to her word, Sakura was taken to one of the training rooms, and there she saw Sai and Sasuke going blade to blade, though this time it appeared as though they had agreed to 'light ninjutsu'. Sai used ink birds to force Sasuke to fight at range, only drawing his blade if Sasuke got close enough to be a threat. Sasuke, in turn, was attempting to use what looked to be an extension of the Chidori to run visible current through his own blade. It was likely more effective against living opponents, but fared well at dispersing Sai's birds before they could get close enough to hit.

It was less the charged competition that they had engaged in before, and more a _true_ spar, now that Sakura thought about it. The two boys had succeeded in repelling Akatsuki and had decided to celebrate by _training_.

"Two peas in a pod." Karin seemed to read her mind as she watched the two spar. "They sort of look a bit similar too, don't you think?"

"What?" Sakura frowned. "I don't see it."

"Dark hair, fair skin, bit of an ego…"

...alright, _maybe_ there was something to it, but Sakura wasn't going to tell either of the boys that.

It was Sasuke who noticed her first, ducking to avoid a stray bird so that he could address her with a small nod. With that, the spar came to a quiet halt, mutual understanding between the two that their time, for the moment, was ended.

"Sakura." Sai gave her a smile as he sheathed his blade. "I hope you're well enough to spar. I don't think this one is going to stand any more delays."

Sakura could have sworn she saw a vein pop in Sasuke's head as he shot the other boy a glare, but she couldn't help but laugh at the comment. "I think you guys got the better deal in the fight, by the sound of things, other than Deidara giving you all the slip."

"He knew nothing about Itachi." Sasuke answered. "There was no use in going after him."

"Other than the whole regrouping back at Akatsuki to share information on our techniques and come back to fight us again point." Sai countered, still smiling sweetly even as Sasuke glared daggers into his back. "I think he's scared of whomever leads Akatsuki, Sakura. If we can convince him that he's safe with us, he'd leave."

"We'll have to keep working him then." Sakura agreed. "But for now, I need to speak with Sasuke alone, if you don't mind."

The look on Sai's face told her that he understood why. Even Gaara, so used to being at her side, took his leave. Not that they didn't already know what was about to be discussed; no, that wasn't the reason for the privacy.

Sakura just didn't know how Sasuke would react to the news. It wouldn't be good, either way...and he deserved his privacy for that.

"So...anywhere that's actually private around here?" Sakura asked, waiting for the room to empty before turning to the Uchiha.

"...you're not here to ask me out again, are you?"

There was a knowing smirk in Sasuke's eyes, a teasing look that reminded Sakura of how he used to speak with Naruto, sometimes, and something in her melted in being able to see Sasuke so..._relaxed_. Something he'd never really been in Konoha, other than the odd moment where Naruto was able to drag it out of him.

She let the comment roll off her back, shaking her head gently. "No, Sasuke...it really is important. I promise. It's half the reason I'm here in Oto at all, actually, and I would have told you sooner if I hadn't been worried about Akatsuki banging down our door."

Sasuke's smirk faded as he read her tone, and after a moment he gave her a simple nod before gesturing for her to follow. He led her through several winding passageways before coming to a simple door, marked only with a paper seal where the handle should have been. He placed a hand over the seal and the seal glowed: a chakra lock, Sakura realized, no doubt designed by Karin.

Inside was a relatively simple looking bedroom. Sakura did note some hooks on the wall to hang weapons, as well as a shelf filled to the brim with books, no, _textbooks_ on jutsu and chakra theory. It was surprising at first, but Orochimaru was a scholar, so of course he would have required reading for his 'star pupil'.

It was quaint, though almost military, and for a moment Sakura was ready to write the room off as 'boring', until she caught sight of a strange device in the back corner of the room.

"What _is_ that?"

"Mm?" Sasuke looked over to it before shrugging. "Something Karin gave me. It plays music."

"Music, really? Like records or discs?"

"Yeah." Sasuke pulled over a chair from a nearby desk for her before sitting down on his bed. "She keeps wanting me to listen to all of these musicians. Waste of time." There was a slight flush to his cheeks, however, that told Sakura what he _really_ thought of the music, even if he wouldn't admit it aloud.

She wanted to continue to make small talk. It would have been easier to keep talking about music, or training, or even just living in Oto.

Sakura sighed. It just wasn't shaping up to be an easy week.

"Sasuke...well, I have a lot of talk about, actually, and it involves your brother and your family, as well as a particular sect that used to exist in Konoha. What I need to know first is if you know anything about the faction called Root."

She could tell she'd gotten Sasuke's rapt attention with just the mention of his brother, though he shook his head at her question. "Never heard of it."

"Alright, that checks out." Sakura replied. "Now, and I know this question is about to seem even stranger...did you know about your family's plans to stage a coup for control of Konoha?"

She saw Sasuke's hand grip the bed tighter, and his eyes narrowed as they met her own. She saw his Sharingan spin, and she refused to let herself look away; he was trying to figure out if she was lying, playing him for a fool.

"...I didn't come here without evidence to back up anything I'm saying, Sasuke, but I need to know how much you know and how much I need to tell you."

"This is the first time I'm hearing of any of this." Sasuke answered. "And I don't see what any of this has to do with Itachi."

"...you will." Sakura said solemnly. "I'll tell you everything I know."

* * *

It took longer than she thought, beginning from when she first learned about Root from Sai, going through her battle with Itachi, her revelations with Shikamaru, the strange Sharingan-wielding 'ghost' in the Uchiha shrine…(and thankfully, Sasuke didn't seem too shaken up about the breaking and entering).

She ended with the trial and brief civil war, going into as much detail as she could recall about the strange Sharingan techniques that Danzo wielded and the horrific realization as to _why_ Danzo had wanted the Uchiha dead to begin with. She pulled out a scroll and handed it to Sasuke, _the_ scroll in which had been sealed Danzo's arm as well as all of the compiled evidence that she and Shikamaru had put together for the trial. The documents of the Uchiha coup, witness testimonies on the activities of Root, her own testimony on Itachi...she'd left nothing out, in the hope that Sasuke could at least find _some_ closure in that justice had been done on Danzo for his actions, though she knew it was likely a fleeting hope.

His entire clan dead, all to fuel one man's ambitions and drive for a power that could usually only be achieved through genetic luck...how could anyone find any sort of peace and closure knowing that?

Sasuke was quiet, so quiet she thought he might have even stopped breathing. His knuckles had turned white from gripping at the bed, and his eyes had never left her own, even when she sometimes found it impossible to meet them. He only moved when she leaned forward to offer him the scroll, and it was only when he unsealed the contents within that he stopped his intense gaze.

He ignored the documents and instead lingered on the arm, perfectly preserved due to whatever strange research had given them the power to wield the couple dozen sharingan running up and down its length. She saw Sasuke bite at his lip as he reached out, his hand getting almost close enough to touch one of the eyes before sharply pulling away.

He stood, then, walking to the other side of the room with clenched fists and a stiff back. Sakura let the quiet fill the air for a while, to allow Sasuke time to process. It was a lot, it was _still_ a lot even after she'd experienced the process of putting it all together. It was personal now, but that had been by choice. She'd _chosen_ to delve in, to expose Danzo and free Konoha of his influence. It was personal for Sasuke too, but in the horrible way of not getting to choose, of having this knowledge and fate thrust upon him.

"That's everything I know at the moment." Sakura finally spoke. "I...have a letter from Lady Tsunade for you. I don't know exactly what she wrote but I'm sure her condolences aren't exactly what you want to hear. Still, she sent them anyway, and I-"

"You're right." Sasuke finally spoke. "I don't want to hear it."

His words were like ice, and Sakura flinched when his voice reached her. She could feel the stillness in the air being stirred by what _had_ to be his chakra, an angry aura swirling about and resonating against her own.

"You killed him?" He asked, turning to meet her with Sharingan still blazing red.

"I...I helped." Sakura admitted. "Sai took the arm off. Naruto landed the finishing blow."

"Naruto…" Sasuke nodded. "Naruto, he knows all of this?"

"He was on the investigation with us, yes. He's the one who found the Third's original decree for Root to disband."

There was a strange sort of relief in Sasuke's eyes in the admission, and Sakura wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps he was grateful that Naruto had fought for his sake, had enacted justice for his sake...but she was no mind reader, and Sasuke had never been one to easily share his thoughts.

"If you hadn't killed him, I would have." He said with finality. "No one in Konoha would have stopped me."

"I don't think most people in Konoha would have."

"He tried to have _you_ killed, too. You...and Gaara, and Sai."

"Of course he did. We were learning the truth." Sakura answered with a shrug. "I mean, if I was in his position, what else could I have done? I don't really hold _that_ against him so much as everything else."

"You shouldn't let it go." Sasuke lectured. "None of it. Not a single bit of it. It's not just _Danzo_, Sakura, it's _everything_, _everyone_ around him that failed to act until now. Everyone that was complicit or served a role in keeping him in power. Everyone who ran when he told them to run and didn't think he was worth challenging. Everyone in that _stupid_ village-"

Sasuke suddenly lashed out, slamming his fist against the wall with enough strength to even shake the floor beneath them. Sakura's hand flew to her kunai on instinct, even with the knowledge in the back of her mind that Sasuke didn't have any real reason to want to hurt her.

"Everyone…" Sasuke continued. "Except our classmates. The ones who acted. The ones who put him down. Everyone else in that village can _rot_."

Though in her mind Sakura could hear herself speaking up in defense of the village, she just couldn't bring herself to actually do it. His pain, she realized, was not something to downplay. To deny his pain, to deny the complacency of the village and the part the system had played in allowing Danzo to keep in power...denial would only make such pain grow. Denial would only lead to more suffering.

No, in order for Sasuke's pain to ebb, he had to confront it in whichever way suited him best. This was _Sasuke's_ pain, not her own...and pain was considered a holy concept under Jashinism. A tool to motivate, a tool for change, a tool to understand others and, with understanding, even a tool to _heal_.

"Maybe…" She found herself finally speaking. "Maybe it was for the best that you left Konoha."

She looked to Sasuke again and found shock on his face, no doubt not expecting the answer she'd given. But what shocked her in turn was the sudden wave of grief that seemed to overcome him, an emotion she'd never seen on him before. His Sharingan faded and his onyx eyes filled with tears, and when he spoke again it was no longer ice but a crackle of emotion that Sakura couldn't put words to.

"_Why did Itachi __**listen**_ _to him?"_

Sakura moved, her feet pushing her forward before her mind could even think to tell herself to hold back. Before she could stop, she was wrapping her arms around Sasuke in a tight hug. It was _familiar_, doing this, the same sort of desperate move she'd done when he'd been overcome by the anger and power of Orochimaru's curse in the Forest of Death. Only this time, there was no anger, only rasping sobs as Sasuke clung to her in turn.

She stayed with him until his tears ran out.


End file.
